Legends of Chaos: Dragon of Zerbst
by ZuttoAragi
Summary: Kirche summons her Familiar during the Familiar Summoning Ritual but summons quite a bit more than she expected. Kazuma Soryu is who she summoned. An alternate version of Dragon of Zero featuring Kirche von Zerbst as the lead. We shall see which is more popular.
1. To Summon a Dragon

**Chapter I**

**Yes, another new story. I know I am doing a lot of these lately, I will slow down soon. I promise. Anyway, this story, if you could not tell by the title, is Dragon of Zerbst. It is an alternate telling of Dragon of Zero that puts Kirche in the central position as main girl instead of Louise. I will not say anything more than that for spoilers so...yeah. The overall story will be similar to canon, with obvious changes due to the change of Kirche being the main girl. Now I am mostly doing this as a test. I will work on this for a few chapters, not many, two or three. It is a test of an alternate flow of events for Dragon of Zero, and I would like to see which version of events my readers, you guys, like best. I like both versions of this story, but this one has been poking me in the back of the brain for a few weeks, so I decided to put this up and get opinions from you guys on it. So yes, if you would be so kind, I would really appreciate reviews stating which version of the story (Dragon of Zero or Dragon of Zerbst) that you like best. So I really would like opinions from all of you on it. So with that said, the basic idea of this story is Kazuma Soryu gets summoned by Kirche von Zerbst as her Familiar instead of Louise la Valliere summoning him. The story crosses over mainly Familiar of Zero and Dragonar Academy in terms of storyline, with other anime thrown in later down the line. That said my coauthor for this story is, as usual, Bakuto Masaki so I would like to thank him for the help in that regard. But I suppose with nothing else to add, it is time to start the story.**

**EDIT: I have added a poll to my profile page so you can give an opinion there as well. Reviews are obviously GREATLY appreciated, but the poll also provides a plain, numerical representation of the opinions. Thank you.**

* * *

In a medium sized room with fancy furnishings, a door near the rear, right-hand corner, a fireplace to the right of the door on the right-side wall, a large wardrobe to the left of the fireplace, a small table with two chairs next to the wardrobe, another door on the leftmost end of the wall, the perpendicular wall opposite the first door having a window in the center, the left-side wall having a large, ornate bed in the middle of the wall, with the head of the bed facing towards the wall with a window, with a small dresser at the end, and then an armoire on the wall next to the first door, a tall, attractive young woman with dark skin, waist-length, curly, fire-red hair which curved at different spots like fire and covered one of her dark red eyes laid in the large bed.

The woman slowly sat up as her one visible eye opened to see around her, a melancholic expression filling her face. She grabbed a wooden wand from the bedside table next to her and lightly flicked it, causing garments to exit the wardrobe.

She proceeded to dress in a white blouse that she kept slightly unbuttoned, exposing a portion of her generous bosom, a short, pleated, black skirt, thigh-high black stockings, black dress shoes, a red ribbon clipped shut with a gold clip with a five-pointed star engraved on it, and a black cape around her shoulders.

Before leaving the room she looked at a photo on top of her fireplace. Her frown deepened sadly as she thought, '_Hard to believe it's already been almost a year…_' She took a breath and then her expression instantly changed to a bright, playful smile.

* * *

She then made her way out of her room into a long hallway with multiple doors, which was inside a multi-floor, round tower, one of five in a pentagram formation around a central tower with walls connecting the towers, four long hallways going from four of the outside towers to the center tower.

In the upper right tower, the girl along with many other students sat in a semicircular classroom with a single flat wall, a round series of steps around it with desks on each level, three students being able to sit at each desk.

At the bottom level of the class behind a desk in front of a blackboard, a heavyset woman with curly brown hair and brown eyes wearing black robes with a purple cape, and a pointed, purple hat stood and looked around at the students. "Congratulations to each of you for making it to your second year at the Tristain Magical Academy." She then looked around the room and asked, "So, can anyone here explain the primary elements of magic?"

A male student with short, wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, and wearing a high-collared, white, button-down shirt with frills along the middle and the first few buttons undone, exposing his chest, a pair of black pants, black shoes, and a black cape fastened around his chest stood up with a rose in his hands. "I can, Miss Chevreuse."

The teacher, Miss Chevreuse, nodded in agreement. "And you are?"

"Guiche de Gramont," he answered proudly, bringing a rose up to his face.

"Very good de Gramont. Now, what are the four principle elements to magic?"

Guiche chuckled lightly, getting the attention of the female students, and explained, "They are Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind."

"Very good," Miss Chevreuse praised with a light clap. "There are also multiple levels to a mage. Could you explain what those are?"

Guiche chuckled once more and responded, "Certainly. A mage who is able to use a single element is a Dot. Two elements is a Line. Three is a Triangle. Four is a Square."

"That is right Mr. de Gramont. Now, as an Earth mage myself, I shall teach you all a simple Earth spell." She set down four pebbles on the desk in front of her and waved her wand lightly in front of her. "Earth is an important element, as it is involved with the creation of all things." As she waved her wand she chanted, "Lel, in, yan." The three pebbles lit up with bright light before the light died down and the stone pebbles were now shiny.

"Is that gold?!" the red-haired young woman asked in surprise, her large breasts bouncing as she stood up in shock at Chevreuse's spell.

Miss Chevreuse chuckled lightly. "No my dear, it is brass."

The dark-skinned teen frowned in disappointment before sitting back down in a huff.

Miss Chevreuse then looked around the room and asked, "So, now I would like a student from the class to perform the spell for everyone."

Guiche put the rose in his mouth as he flipped a portion of his hair and declared, "As an Earth mage like yourself, Missus, I believe it is my duty to perform the spell."

Miss Chevreuse thought for a moment and shook her head. "No, I believe that…you should do it." She pointed to the red-haired teen.

The redhead nodded as she stood up.

"What is your name?"

Taking a light breath, the redhead answered, "My name is Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst."

Miss Chevreuse nodded. "Miss Zerbst, would you like to perform the spell?"

Kirche nodded in return as she picked up her wand, though she momentarily winced.

One student, a girl with short, light blue hair, blue tired blue eyes, wearing the same uniform as the other girls with the cape reaching the ground and pooling behind her, a set of red, square-frame glasses, and a long, wooden staff that curved at the top, who held a book that enraptured her attention, noticed this and stood up before walking out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Kirche walked to the set of three stones and flicked her wand, thinking of the spell and uttering, "Lel, in, yan."

* * *

As the blue-haired girl walked away the door flew off the hinges with an explosion.

* * *

In another area of the school, an old man with long gray hair that extended into a pointed beard that covered his mouth and black eyes wearing a long black robe with a staff in his hands that widened at the top, stood in a large office with a desk and multiple bookshelves. As he stood he took a puff from a fancy smoke pipe and looked out onto the school grounds.

His secretary, an attractive young woman with long green hair tied up in a ponytail with a yellow band, bangs framing her face that were tied back with hairclips, and a single strand hanging down over her forehead, chocolate brown eyes as well as a considerable bust wearing round, frameless glasses, a dark blue, two-piece uniform with white trim, and a purple cape wrapped around her shoulders waved a wand in her hand with an annoyed expression.

The old man watched as his pipe left his hand.

"Mr. Osmond, I've told you many times you shouldn't smoke, it's not good for your health," the woman chastised.

The old man sighed and walked over to her. "Come now Ms. Longueville, don't be like that." Osmond then proceeded to rub his hand against her hip.

Longueville remarked, "That's harassment Mr. Osmond."

Osmond then started wandering around the room mumbling.

Longueville sighed and retorted, "You haven't gone senile yet Mr. Osmond."

Osmond flinched as she called him at his game.

A small mouse then hopped down from the chair Longueville was sitting at, ran up Osmond's robe and onto his hand and began squeaking at him.

Osmond smirked perversely as he said, "Ohh? Pure white? That's nice."

Longueville's face turned bright red.

"I think she'd look better in lacy black." Osmond turned and winced as an angry Longueville slapped him hard.

She was about to continue her retaliation when a loud explosion rumbled throughout the school.

* * *

Back in the classroom, Kirche looked at her wand with a deflated expression as the room around her was in shambles.

"W-well…" Miss Chevreuse remarked weakly, "That didn't go as I expected."

Kirche merely sighed in defeat.

* * *

Some period of time later, Kirche walked out of Osmond's office. As she walked down the spiral staircase she was surprised to see the blue-haired girl and a girl with blonde hair that spiraled in multiple drill shapes wearing the same uniform as the others standing nearby.

Kirche looked at the two curiously. "What are you two doing here, Tabitha, Montmorency?"

The blue-haired girl, Tabitha, merely motioned her large staff towards Kirche.

The blonde girl, Montmorency, folded her arms as she looked at Kirche. "Tabitha told me why that spell of yours exploded like that."

Kirche gloomed guiltily.

Montmorency frowned worriedly.

Kirche's expression immediately returned to a bright smile. "I was simply tired, I was up late last night and wasn't concentrating. Now, let's finish up for the day."

The other two nodded in agreement, though Montmorency kept her concerned expression while Tabitha's remained still.

* * *

The next day in the large courtyard of the school, a tall man with balding black hair and blue eyes wearing round, frameless glasses, and a dark blue robe with white trim holding a long staff with red accents stood in the center of the courtyard standing in front of the second year students. "Alright everyone, listen closely, today we will be doing the familiar summoning ritual. Today you will all summon the familiars that will be with you for the rest of your lives."

Montmorency glanced at Kirche. "Are you sure you're feeling alright Kirche?"

Kirche looked at Montmorency and smiled happily. "You don't need to worry about me. I'm merely excited about summoning my beautiful familiar."

The teacher looked around and asked, "So, who shall summon first?"

Guiche stepped forward and said, "Mr. Colbert, I shall summon my wonderful familiar first."

The teacher, Colbert, nodded in agreement. "Very well Mr. Gramont, then summon your familiar."

Guiche stepped forward and chanted a phrase before waving the rose, his wand, as the ground shook some before a section buckled up some, then more and more until a massive, human-sized mole popped out. Guiche turned blue in worry and knelt down. "A-a mole…?"

The mole made happy grunts towards Guiche.

Guiche sighed in disappointment.

The other students proceeded to summon their familiars.

Tabitha summoned a large, quadrupedal, blue dragon with large wings and Montmorency summoned a yellow and brown spotted frog.

Montmorency twitched an eyebrow at her summoned familiar.

* * *

After a while Colbert looked around and asked, "So, has everyone summoned their familiars?" He looked around and noticed Kirche standing alone. "Miss Zerbst, is there a reason you have not summoned your familiar?"

Kirche flinched in surprise, glowering in frustration momentarily before smiling confidently. "No, no, I simply wanted to summon my familiar last. That way everyone will see it and its majesty."

Colbert sweat-dropped. "Ah…I see…well…then on with the spell I suppose."

"Right," Kirche answered as she stepped forward. She frowned lightly as the other students started spacing themselves out. She looked at her wand with a light frown. '_Now…I should say something she would say…_' After a moment she smirked and thought, '_I've got the perfect thing._' "My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe!"

The other students started laughing mockingly at her.

Montmorency blinked curiously. "Has she finally lost it?"

Kirche ignored the others and continued, "My divine, wise, beautiful servant, heed my call! I wish from the bottom of my heart, appear before for me!" Kirche blinked curiously as she looked at her wand. She shook it and then tapped it against her hand before there was suddenly a massive explosion.

All of the students began coughing heavily as smoke and dust filled the air.

Kirche moaned in annoyance. "Ooohhh…that wasn't supposed to happen. Now I've got dust in my hair."

As the dust began to clear everyone noticed a figure in the smoke.

The figure lying on the ground was a young man with short brown hair, brown eyes, and several scars on his face, one extending from just to the right of his nose to the left side of his face and the other extending from his forehead to his cheek on the right side, wearing black under armor that covered his entire body in light padding, hiding his physique, thigh length metal greaves that left the backs of his knees exposed for movement with two rings of armor going up his thighs attached to the rest of the greaves, waist armor attached to a belt that wrapped around his sides and back, allowing his front to move freely, torso armor that covered his chest and upper back, allowing him flexibility in the midsection, wide shoulder pauldrons with plates the stuck up to the sides to protect his neck and shoulders with plates facing down to protect his upper arms, plated gauntlets that covered his forearms and the backs of his hands, and a long red cape attached to the torso armor.

* * *

At the time Kirche was summoning her familiar, in another unknown place that had an endless sky of jet black, with a ground made of countless stone blocks varying in size and height three figures, two humanoids and a rotting corpse resembling a dragon sat.

The first humanoid figure which laid on the ground was the armored young man. A faint green light nearby stirred the man from his sleep as his eyes slowly opened. He glanced to one side and saw a tall, elliptical portal nearby.

* * *

The man found himself in a strange, rainbow colored abyss.

Looking around puzzled he thought, '_Ddraig, where am I? What happened to him?_'

A voice in his head responded, **'_I'm uncertain, Kazuma, but I believe he's dead. Where we are now though…I do not know. I cannot even say how much time has passed._'**

'_Damn…wait…does it feel like I'm falling…?_'

**'_Probably…_'**

* * *

Everyone, including Kirche, looked at the figure she summoned in confusion.

After a moment the young man, Kazuma, flinched, groaned and then sat up. As he looked around he sighed. "Well that friggin' hurt." He looked ahead of him and then saw Kirche standing in front of him. He stood up and brushed some of the dirt from her cape.

Kirche blinked curiously and asked, "…Are you…the one I summoned…?"

Kazuma folded his arms in thought. "I think…"

Kirche sighed as she suddenly heard snickering that turned into laughter. She looked around worried as she realized the other students were bursting out in laughter at her.

Kazuma looked around and noticed first the students laughing wildly and then Kirche's solemn expression. He narrowed his eyes and then demanded, "Oy! What's so funny?!"

Kirche looked at him surprised as one of the students answered, through his laughter, "She…she tried to summon some big beast and she got…a human…!"

Kazuma narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "Che, fine, if that's what you want…" Taking a moment to assess the amount of energy in his body he closed his eyes before they snapped open, his brown eyes now turned red with vertical slits before his body was bathed in red light, the form of his body formed from the light then burst outward into a new shape. After a moment, the light died down to reveal a three story tall, humanoid, bipedal dragon with blood red scales, though the insides of its arms, hands, and legs, the underside of its head and tail, and the front of its neck and chest with a long tail extending from the base of its spine, a long, reptilian head with four large horns pointing back on a short, straight neck, five clawed fingers on each hand, five clawed toes on each foot, a wide wingspan with each wing resembling an elongated hand, with a piece sticking up like a thumb, spiked spines going down its back, similar spikes on its elbows and knees, along with slitted, deep red eyes.

The dragon Kazuma had become growled and then asked in a deep, booming voice, "Is this beastly enough for you?"

The students' laughter swiftly died down as they backed away some.

After a moment the dragon's body lit up red before the light shrank back down and Kazuma returned to his human form. Kazuma then looked at Kirche and asked, "So you're the one who summoned me then?"

Kirche nodded slowly in response. "Yes. I summoned you as my servant, my Familiar."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow as he looked at Kirche. The image of a woman with deep crimson hair filled his mind as he thought, '_It's always busty redheads. It could be worse though._'

"So…are you…a human or…?" Kirche asked unsurely."

"Hmm…let's say I'm a dragon and keep it simple."

Kirche nodded in response. "Very well. Since you are a dragon, I must ask, do you have a name of your own?"

Kazuma nodded and was about to answer when he thought, '_Hmm…I shouldn't use my real name…_'

A voice in its head added, **'_Just pick one._'**

"…Ddraig…my name is Ddraig," Kazuma answered.

The voice in his head grumbled in annoyance.

Colbert's eyes widened in shock.

Kirche then walked up to "Ddraig".

"Is…something wrong…?" Kazuma asked unsurely.

Colbert, still uncomfortable and deep in thought, explained, "The familiar pact is sealed with a kiss."

"I see…" he answered thoughtfully as he looked at Kirche.

"So, we need to kiss," Kirche explained.

Many of the male students gaped as she and Kazuma neared each other, their lips grasping each other, sealing their pact.

Kirche's eyes widened as she pulled back in surprise.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What? You said it was a kiss…didn't you…?"

Kirche put a hand over her mouth with an amused smirk, "True, but I didn't expect you to be quite that forward."

Kazuma sighed and scratched at his neck. "Damn, is it just me or is it getting hot?" His body started to glow slightly red with heat before he felt a strange sensation on his left hand. The gauntlet on his left hand along with the left sleeve of his under-armor disappeared in a flash of light and revealed a complex rune on the back of his hand.

However, Kirche and the others noticed instead the strange red markings going up his arm instead. Kirche looked at the markings in thought.

Kazuma noticed her staring at him and glanced at her. "Something wrong?"

"Hm? Oh, no," Kirche answered thoughtfully, "Nothing in particular."

Colbert walked up to Kazuma and asked. "So…your name is Ddraig and…may I see your Familiar Rune?"

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and then nodded dumbly. "Oh, uh, yeah, it is." He then showed Colbert the back of his hand.

Yet again Colbert's eyes widened when he saw the marking. Nodding he said, "Uhm, thank you."

Kazuma nodded and the gauntlet reappeared on his arm in a flash of light.

Kirche put a hand to her chin and smirked. '_Hmm…on first sight, he's actually not half bad. He at least seems to have a little more muscle than most of the students. Having him as my Familiar will definitely be interesting._' Kirche then looked around at the other students and put a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't we get going?"

Kazuma looked at her curiously. "Oh? Where to?"

"My room, where else?" she responded.

Kazuma nodded and followed behind her. '_I wonder what this place is._' As he looked around he noticed something near one of the towers but ignored it.

**'_I'm still trying to figure out why you used my name in place of your own,_'** the real Ddraig said.

Kazuma sweat-dropped. '_Oh, uh, well that's…I had to think of something and I don't know if I'm known here or not. So I figured an alias was the best way to go._'

Ddraig just sighed. **'_Well, I guess you aren't called the Chaos King for nothing, are you?_'**

Kazuma just grinned as he walked away, leaving the rest of the students puzzled as to what had just occurred.

* * *

As the two arrived back in Kirche's room, Kazuma looked around the area curiously. "There certainly isn't a vast amount of space in here is there?"

Kirche smirked as she sat down on her bed. "Perhaps, but it's enough for a girl like me," she answered plainly.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow at her sudden change of inflection. He then noticed the photo on her mantle. It was of a teenage girl with waist-length, wavy pink hair that came down over her forehead, with one long bang coming down further than the rest in between her dark pink eyes, and with a considerably flat bust wearing the same female uniform as the other students, though he noticed the brown cape rather than the black one. He pointed at the photo and asked, "So who's this? She looks nothing like you."

Kirche clenched a fist and bit her lip lightly. "That is… Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere."

"Friend of yours?" he asked.

Kirche nodded slowly. "She was…"

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and noticed the dampened expression in her eye. "I did not mean to bring up a difficult subject."

"No, you're my Familiar. If you ask it's only right I explain," Kirche responded bluntly.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow but nodded in understanding. "Alright then, if you explain, I'll listen."

Kirche began, "It happened a few months into the first year. Louise had come to the school along with the rest of us to learn magic and prove herself a true noble. However, she was miserable at using magic."

Kazuma remained silent as she continued.

"With every spell she tried to cast all that happened is it exploded. Even something as simple as making an object levitate caused an explosion. Due to her near total lack of magical ability, the other students started taunting her by giving her the insulting title 'Louise the Zero'."

Kazuma noticed Kirche's fist tighten as she spoke. "You were one of them…?"

Kirche nodded slowly. "Yes. Turns out, her family, Valliere, and mine, Zerbst, have a long-standing rivalry and hatred with each other. Personally I find it useless and taxing, so I tried to bridge the gap."

Kazuma scrunched his brow in thought. "Pardon my rudeness, but insulting someone usually isn't the best way to get their affection."

Kirche chuckled mirthlessly, "Yes, looking back I realize that. I figured that I tried to get a rise from Louise's competitive spirit, since she was a noble after all, her skill would improve. I thought that, since she still believed in the old rivalry, she would like a rival but…"

Kazuma frowned sympathetically. "She probably wanted a friend, not a rival."

Kirche nodded slowly in confirmation.

Kazuma sighed lightly. "So, what happened?"

"Despite Louise's complete and total lack of magical skill and her obviously petite form, many of the other girls in the school felt that the level of pride and honor Louise at least attempted to carry herself with was unwarranted. So a few of them banded together to get that pride out of her."

"…You overheard them planning this, didn't you?"

Kirche grit her teeth and nodded slowly. "…Yes…I did. I ignored them since I figured that they're just low-level mages, none of us had learned any magic or techniques that could really do anything."

Kazuma remained quiet for a moment before asking, "…What did they do?"

Kirche clenched her fist tightly. "There used to be an old horse in the stables that had been at the school for a long time. By the time we started attending the school it wasn't being used for carriage pulls anymore and was just being kept at the stables for tradition. Those girls spread a rumor the horse was supposedly a powerful wizard who'd been cursed and that he would teach his magic to whoever could break his curse with a kiss."

Kazuma sighed heavily. "Let me guess…"

Kirche nodded. "Louise, who was so desperate to increase her skill with magic snuck into the stables and did just that. Unfortunately those girls were waiting for her and used a simple spell to secretly take a picture of her doing it and spread it throughout the school. Eventually slurs towards bestiality were added to the taunts Louise received. One day she didn't show up for any classes and I went to check on her…"

"Well…?"

"I found her on her bed motionless, a short note on her nightstand apologizing to her sister and the princess. She mixed a poison made with special beads and ingested an entire glass of it…"

Kazuma narrowed his eyes. "Kiss of the Abyss."

Kirche looked at him confused.

"It's what the poison is called. I've encountered it before. Sorry, I wasn't being cruel."

Kirche nodded slowly in understanding.

"So…what happened after that?"

"A funeral was held for Louise, and that was it."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes. "Those girls were never punished?"

Kirche Nodded slowly. "At first they weren't since there was no feasible way to connect the rumor to malicious intent. Eventually I told Osmond what I saw and they were swiftly expelled from the school. Unfortunately that's the end of it. Nothing else happened after that."

Kazuma sighed heavily.

"…Well…now you know."

Kazuma nodded. He then looked around.

"So, do you have any other questions?"

"Nothing as loaded as that. And to be honest, perhaps you should take a break after that."

Kirche looked back at the photo of Louise and nodded. "Perhaps. What about you?"

"I'm going to try and learn everything I can about this place since I've got no idea what this place is," Kazuma explained.

"You mean you don't know?" Kirche asked with slight confusion.

"That's what I said."

"You're at the Tristain Academy of Magic," Kirche explained plainly.

"That's a little too specific. I'm not even sure what planet this is."

Kirche blinked curiously. "It's called Halkeginia."

"Halkeginia…not a name I'm familiar with," Kazuma responded. "If you don't mind I'm going to walk around the school and try to get my bearings."

Kirche nodded in understanding.

"Then I suppose I'll be back soon." He stopped for a moment and then handed her a simple ring.

"What's this?"

"It's a ring made of mana, if you pulse mana into it I'll be able to feel it, just in case you have a reason for me to return quickly."

Kirche nodded in understanding as he walked out the door.

* * *

Kazuma walked out the door and down the hallway. Scratching his head in thought as he walked he muttered, "So, looks like my life cycles doesn't it? First I'm Forbesii's servant, then arguably Arturia's, then Rias', and now Kirche's. Though I can't really complain about the last three. Though it is pretty annoying to have finally beat that bastard and now I'm somewhere I don't recognize.

Kazuma turned the corner and noticed Guiche, whom he had yet to meet personally, wooing a girl with long brown hair in a hime cut with brown eyes wearing the female uniform and a brown cape.

"You're so beautiful this night, dear Katie," Guiche said affectionately to the girl.

Katie giggled in light amusement and responded, "Oh, Guiche, you're so romantic."

The two then blinked and turned to the side, seeing Kazuma watching them confused.

Guiche blinked curiously and asked, "Wait, aren't you the Familiar Kirche the Ardent summoned?"

Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "Ardent? Sure, whatever you say Adonis."

"Adonis? My name is Guiche," he corrected.

Kazuma twitched slightly, trying and failing to suppress his laughter. "G-Guiche? You must be joking."

"No I am not! My name is Guiche de Gramont and I am quite proud of it!"

"Sure, whatever Butch."

"It's Guiche!"

* * *

In another area of the school, Colbert paged through a series of books before seeming to find what he was searching for, causing his eyes to narrow. He saw a series of symbols in a book that strongly resembled the symbols on Kazuma's hand. "This is it, just as I thought. I need to tell the headmaster about this."

* * *

Kazuma chuckled as he walked past the two lovebirds and thought, '_Oh yeah, Blondie's gonna be loads of fun._' He then made his way out of the main building and into the courtyard.

He looked at the area around him in thought. With a sigh he remarked, "Crap. All I see is fields and mountains. Nothing helpful at all." He then looked up and saw something strange. Two moons in the sky, one larger, blue moon, and another smaller, red moon. His eyes then widened as he realized something. '_Hey, Ddraig, that large moon…you don't think it could be…Rieze Maxia…do you…?_'

The voice in his head remained silent for a moment before responding, **'_Hmm…I think it might be. That would mean…_'**

Kazuma sighed and ran a hand through his hair. '_That means we're on Elympios. We're in Vanaheim._'

**'_If you're right, then we are. This place…if it truly is Vanaheim, then matters could get complicated._'**

A new, second voice in his head then interjected, **'_That they will. You do not intend on merely lazing around I hope._'**

Kazuma smirked in amusement. '_Have you met me, Zangetsu? For the moment I'm perfectly content just waiting, especially with what I recently went through._'

The new voice, Zangetsu sighed in exasperation. **'_Why does this not surprise me? You are a walking contradiction._'**

Ddraig, the first voice in his head, interrupted, **'_I suggest you stop trying to convince him to get the lead out old man. Have you learned nothing so far?_'**

Zangetsu remained silent.

Kazuma chuckled lightly as he looked around. He glanced up to the side and noticed a figure watching him on a balcony that shortly vanished. He narrowed his eyes before turning to get back to the room before he began sweating lightly. "…Shit…"

**'_What now?_'** Ddraig asked.

'_I…forgot how to get back to the room…_' Kazuma responded weakly.

**'_…You dumbass._'**

* * *

Eventually Kazuma made his way back to the room he shared with Kirche and noticed the busty redhead asleep on her bed, sleeping peacefully.

He smiled lightly before looking at the picture of Louise. '_I wonder if…_' Shaking the thoughts from his head he walked to the end of the bed and sat down on the floor there and closed his eyes, going to sleep swiftly.

* * *

Kazuma woke up the next morning feeling a slight shaking sensation. His eyes opened and he saw Kirche crouching in front of him.

"Something wrong?" he asked plainly.

"You're very hard to wake," Kirche answered.

Kazuma stretched his shoulders before he stood up. "Sorry 'bout that. So, is there something specific you need?"

Kirche walked over to the door and shook her head. "No, but it's time to head for breakfast, I assume you'll be joining me?"

Kazuma shrugged. "Can Familiars join their Masters to eat?"

"Normally, no. But since you at least _look_ human I'm sure they'll make an exception. Besides, I doubt the usual feed they give to Familiars would work for you."

Kazuma shrugged again. "Technically I can eat anything. Though what gives me the most benefit is fire."

Kirche looked at him surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Fire. You know, flames. I devour them and convert them into mana. My whole body is made of mana rather than biomass."

Kirche blinked in thought and then picked up her wand.

Kazuma backed away slightly.

Kirche narrowed her eye. "Oh don't be like that."

"It exploded when you summoned me."

Kirche sighed heavily. "Yes, I won't argue that. After what happened to Louise my magic occasionally randomly does that despite working most of the time. Though it was especially caustic yesterday. It'll be fine today."

Kazuma remained silent for a moment before nodding. "If you say so."

Kirche nodded in response.

Kazuma watched as Kirche flicked her wand and conjured flames in the air. He blinked curiously and then began inhaling the flames, gulping them down swiftly and effortlessly. Kazuma blinked in thought and said, "Very sweet, I'm glad I was summoned by someone with such tasty flames."

Kirche smirked in amusement. "I'm glad I got a Familiar who enjoys my flames so much. Now, shall we go?"

Kazuma nodded in response and followed behind her.

* * *

The two quickly made their way to a set of large double doors at the end of a long, tall hallway.

As the doors opened, the two walked into the room and Kazuma looked around at the large, long hall with many tall windows on one end with many long tables covered in extravagant meals and candles from end to end.

However, as they entered, Guiche looked around and noticed many of the students, mostly girls, looking at Kazuma intrigued. Standing up annoyed he walked over to Kazuma and Louise proudly. "Hmph, you know, wearing combat gear in the cafeteria is very rude."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Whatever you say Douche."

"My name's not Douche, it's Guiche!"

Kazuma then snapped his finger and his gauntlets, shoulder pauldrons, body armor, and greaves minus the shoes disappeared in a flash of light.

Guiche hated himself for that.

It left Kazuma in nothing but armored shoes and his skintight, black, under armor, showing off his muscular body that was hidden by the armor, also showing more of the scars on his body, one on his right shoulder, one on his right bicep, and one that seemed to extend through his right hand.

Many of the girls turned red at the sight, even Kirche felt her own cheeks heat up slightly at the sight.

As the duo made their way to the spot Kirche wanted Kazuma pulled a seat out for her to sit at.

Kirche smiled appreciatively as she sat down.

Kazuma folded his arms and asked, "So, where am I supposed to sit?"

Kirche put a hand on her chin and then pointed next to her, "That seat should be open."

Kazuma nodded in understanding as he sat down.

On Kirche's opposite side Tabitha sat down.

"Ah, Tabitha, how good of you to join us," Kirche remarked.

Tabitha nodded in response and leaned forward slightly to see Kazuma, nodded lightly to him.

Kazuma smiled and waved in response before resting his head on his fist, with his arm on the table, and asked Tabitha, "You're the one who summoned that Rhyme Dragon, right?"

Tabitha looked at him curiously for a moment and then nodded. "Yes, Sylphid."

Kirche then chuckled and pointed to Kazuma. "Here, watch this." Flicking her wand, she conjured several orbs of flame that Kazuma instantly and gleefully gulped down.

Tabitha's eyes widened just barely.

Kirche smirked. "He eats fire, isn't that such a perfect match?!"

Tabitha nodded in response.

Kazuma leaned over and added, "Technically I can eat anything and it gives me mana, fire is just the most delicious."

Kirche looked at him surprised. "Oh? Anything?"

Kazuma nodded in response.

Before Kirche could say anything Tabitha conjured a ball of ice in the air.

Kazuma grabbed it out of the air and swallowed it as well. He twitched an eyebrow. "So bitter…"

Tabitha frowned in annoyance.

* * *

The rest of the meal passed with little incident, though Kazuma noticed Guiche constantly glaring at him.

As the other students started filing out of the room Kazuma noticed Kirche walk seemingly away from the classrooms.

"Am I missing something?" Kazuma asked as he walked beside her, his armor now reapplied to his body.

"All of us second years have the day off to spend time with our Familiars," Kirche explained.

"Uh-huh," Kazuma responded in thought. "So, what exactly constitutes spending time with your Familiar?"

Kirche motioned to the side where many of the second year students sat gathered in a garden-like area with their Familiars.

"…Ah…"

"So, want to have some tea?" Kirche asked with a smile.

Kazuma shrugged in response as they walked into the gathering place.

As the two walked in Kirche looked around. "There should be a maid around here with some food…"

Kazuma glanced to the side and saw a young woman with short black hair in a bob cut that framed her face as well as bangs hanging just above her dark blue eyes and fair skin wearing a maid uniform that included a black dress, a white, frilled apron that had an extra support piece for her sizable breasts, an orange ribbon held by a blue jewel, a white headpiece, and tall, brown boots walking towards them but walked towards her when he saw the tail of one student's Familiar catch her ankle and knock her off balance.

Kazuma rushed over to the maid and caught her by the waist, catching her tray of food in his hand. After a moment Kazuma sighed and then stood the maid up straight, handing her tray to her. "You alright?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine," the maid responded slightly confused. "Thank you," she responded still mildly confused. "Do you…want some cake…" she asked.

Kazuma thought for a moment and then responded, "How about you just tell me your name?"

The maid looked at him further confused. "Uhm…okay. My name is Siesta."

Kazuma nodded and answered, "My name is K-er, Ddraig."

Siesta nodded in return and bowed. "It's good to meet you Mr. Ddraig."

Kazuma waved a hand. "Just Ddraig is fine."

Siesta raised an eyebrow and nodded with a smile. "Okay, Ddraig it is."

Kazuma turned to the side and then noticed Guiche sitting nearby. However, rather than Katie, he was speaking with and presumably, based on what Kazuma's ears could hear, wooing Montmorency. Kazuma didn't have much of an issue like that until he heard Guiche say several things he said to Katie last night. Sighing, Kazuma thought, '_This halfwit's sneaking around with these two girls, isn't he?_'

**'_Seems like it,_'** Ddraig commented.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow in thought and then got an idea and asked Siesta, "Where were you planning on taking that pie?"

Siesta blinked and answered, "Uhm, Mr. Gramont. Why?"

"Why don't you let me do that instead?" Kazuma offered.

Siesta tilted her head in thought but before she could respond Kazuma had already walked off with a piece, leaving a puzzled Siesta standing next to an intrigued Kirche.

Kazuma walked over to Guiche carrying the pie. "Here you go."

Guiche looked up at Kazuma suspicious and annoyed. "You…you're Kirche von Zerbst's Familiar, right?"

Kazuma folded his arms as he put the pie down on the table. "I am."

"What, are you moonlighting as a waiter now?" Guiche taunted.

"Maybe. Maybe not." '_It helps that I've already worked as a waiter._'

"I see…"

Kazuma then looked over and asked, "Is this the same girl you were with last night?"

Guiche flinched in concern as Montmorency looked at Guiche curiously.

"What does he mean by that, Guiche?" Montmorency asked.

"Ah…well I…" Guiche stammered.

Kazuma then turned to Montmorency and asked, "Hey, what do the different color capes mean?"

Montmorency raised an eyebrow and responded, "Why do you wish to know?"

"Because I saw him with a girl that had a brown cape."

Montmorency frowned and accused, "Are you two-timing me, Guiche?!"

Guiche stood up in worry. "N-no my dear. I would never betray you."

"So does that mean you'd betray her?" Kazuma asked, pointing to Katie behind Guiche.

"Aaah! Katie!" Guiche exclaimed. Guiche then turned to Kazuma and asked the girls, "Are you really going to believe the accusations of some familiar like him?!"

Kazuma folded his arms silently as Siesta and Kirche walked up to Kazuma.

"What's going on over here?" Kirche asked curiously.

Kazuma pointed to Guiche and explained, "He's going out with one girl while also secretly going out with another."

Kirche looked at Guiche curiously and then turned to Montmorency and pointed at Guiche. "You're going out with _him_?"

Guiche stammered, "I-I can explain."

Kazuma raised a hand in front of him. "Don't bother, you're just a weakling."

The others looked at him in surprise.

Kirche raised an eyebrow as he spoke.

Guiche clenched a fist and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"You're secretly seeing one girl while going out with another."

"And who are you to judge?"

"Because, if you're going to see two girls, at least make sure they know about it."

"Eh…?" everyone grunted in response.

Siesta tilted her head in mildly confused thought.

Kazuma pointed to the sky in an instructive manner. "A real man can have and satisfy multiple women at the same time. And since you cannot do so without sneaking around under cover of dark you obviously don't have the confidence it takes." Kazuma blinked and then looked around him. "What? What'd I say?"

Kirche put a hand on her chin as Montmorency asked, "So are you saying that it takes a real man to cheat…?"

Kazuma shook his head. "No, cheating is when you go behind one person's back. It's different if all the girls involved know about it."

Kirche flattened her brow. "Even I'm confused now."

Kazuma sighed and then had an idea. The armor on his arms disappeared in a flash of light, allowing all present to see the long string of red markings on his arms.

Ddraig asked puzzled, **'_Your Command Seals? Oh…I get it._'**

Kazuma pointed to the markings and asked, "You see them? All these marks?"

Everyone present nodded, Guiche asking, "And your point? You just showing off?"

"No, well, not technically. Each one of these markings acts like a marriage band. I've got eleven total."

Guiche gaped while Kirche looked at Kazuma in surprise and intrigue.

"So…hang on…does that mean you…?" Kirche asked curiously.

"What do you think it means?" Kazuma asked.

"That you're married to eleven women," Siesta added bluntly.

Kazuma put a hand to his chin in thought. He was then silent for several seconds.

Kirche sweat-dropped and added, "I don't think there's any reason to count."

"You don't?" Kazuma responded.

Kirche waved a hand. "Let's deal with one thing at a time."

Kazuma shrugged in response. "Eleven at least. Though I think it's likely more. Either way, my point is, Guiche, if you were a real man you wouldn't need to slink around in the dark lying to these girls."

Montmorency asked puzzled and irritated, "And what if, let's say, one of these girls happened to not like the idea of Guiche being with another girl?"

Kazuma answered plainly, "That's simple, he just picks the one who matters to him more."

Guiche began slinking away slowly.

Montmorency grabbed his collar and shouted, "No way! You are not getting off easy just because Ddraig's a jerk!"

Kazuma scratched his head puzzled. "I am completely confused here but whatever."

**'_You're too used to being a ladies man, Kazuma. You forget that most human relationships are one man one woman,_'** Ddraig explained.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and then sighed. '_Oh yeah…I forgot about that. I guess I just forgot about that with everything that's happened. That or I know some of the most exceptionally accepting women._'

**'_Probably a mix of both. But now, you've gotten yourself up shit creek._'**

Kazuma looked around him at the rather perturbed stares from the girls. '_Huh…shit…_' Kazuma sighed and then said, "Well obviously I'd say it seems you messed up either way, Guiche."

"So…" Katie interjected for the first time, "Does that mean it's just okay for a man to have multiple wives?"

Kazuma shook his head. "No, it goes both ways."

Katie looked at him confused.

"I think you're missing her point," Kirche remarked.

"Am I?" Kazuma asked puzzled.

"I think her point is that you seem to think it's okay for one person to have multiple relationships," Siesta proposed, to which Katie nodded in agreement.

Kazuma blinked and answered, "Well…yeah."

"You're just a pervert," Montmorency derided.

"I am but that's not the point."

Siesta once again added, "Though, might I point out that most nobles have side relationships?"

Guiche cleared his throat and added, "Y-yes, she's right."

Kazuma deadpanned, "You were lying so you don't count."

"Grrr…" Guiche then sighed and pointed his rose at Kazuma. "I've had enough of you making a fool out of me."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what do you plan on doing about it?"

Guiche smirked and challenged, "A duel. You against me."

Kazuma shrugged. "Fine by me. I haven't had a chance to stretch my muscles since getting summoned here."

Montmorency gaped and then turned to Kirche. "You're not really going to let your Familiar fight Guiche are you?"

Kirche smirked. "I don't see why not. It'll be fun to see Guiche get beaten."

"…You really think your Familiar can win?"

"Let's call it a hunch."

* * *

Soon Guiche and Kazuma stood opposite each other with a crowd around them.

"Are you ready, you pathetic little lapdog?" Guiche taunted.

"Did you just call me little? I'm going to enjoy flattening your face," Kazuma rebutted.

"That's the part he focused on…?" Kirche, Siesta, and Montmorency remarked in unison.

Guiche smirked and pointed his rose at Kazuma. One of the petals flew off and hit the ground, a humanoid, feminine suit of green armor with a spear rose out of the ground. "I am Guiche the Bronze, and as I use Earth magic, this will be your opponent, one of my Valkyries."

Kazuma nodded. "Alright then, I'll give you the first blow."

Guiche smirked. "You will regret that. Go my pretty!"

The Valkyrie rushed forward, pulled back its unarmed fist, and slammed it into Kazuma's face.

Guiche chuckled proudly but then raised an eyebrow.

The Valkyrie pulled back its fist and Kazuma stood motionless, unharmed. Kazuma smirked and said, "My turn." He grabbed the Valkyrie by the arm, slammed it into the ground and then threw it at Guiche.

Guiche gasped as the Valkyrie slammed into him, smashing him onto the ground.

Colbert showed up at that moment, having heard the commotion, and was in shock as he watched Kazuma so easily dispatch Guiche's Valkyrie.

Kirche put a hand to her chin in thought. "My, my, he seems to be off to a good start."

Guiche stood up angrily and waved his rose wildly, "Take this, and this!" Eight petals fell off and turned into eight Valkyries that immediately rushed Kazuma.

Kazuma grabbed the first Valkyrie by the arm with his right arm, slammed it into the second Valkyrie to his right side, back to the other side against the Valkyrie to his left side, then threw the three stuck-together Valkyries at Guiche. Kazuma then grabbed another Valkyrie by the waist and spun it around his arm to take out two other Valkyries and then threw it as well back at Guiche, the other two it hit going with it. He then used the same arm to punch another Valkyrie's head off, swung his fist and beheaded the seventh before punching a whole into the last Valkyrie's torso and tossing it back at Guiche, leaving the pompous blonde under a pile of defeated Valkyries.

Guiche's hand stuck out under the pile, twitching.

Kazuma sighed and turned to Colbert. "Hey, Teach, call the match, I'm bored."

Kirche smirked at Montmorency. "See? What did I tell you?"

Montmorency merely gaped in shock at the pile of defeat Guiche was buried under.

Kirche then quickly walked up to Kazuma, following him back into the main hallways of the academy.

Colbert looked at the utterly defeated Guiche and gulped. '_He…he defeated one of our best second year students with only one arm. He didn't even move during the whole duel._'

* * *

Kirche and Kazuma soon arrived back at Kirche's room as Kazuma walked over to the small table.

"I have to say, that was quite a show you put on," Kirche complimented.

Kazuma looked at her thoughtfully. "Was it now? I'm glad you enjoyed it so much, that blonde bastard barely put up a good fight as far I'm concerned."

Kirche stood silently for a moment before walking over to Kazuma with a playful smirk. "If that battle bored you, I think I may know one that would interest you more."

"Oh? And what might that be?" Kazuma returned with an intrigued smirk as Kirche walked towards him.

However, as she neared him a loud sound erupted in the hallway.

Kazuma narrowed his eyes and stood up. "Wait here," he ordered as he stepped outside into the hallway.

* * *

Kazuma and Kirche looked down the hall before Kirche pointed towards one end. "Look."

Kazuma turned the direction she pointed and saw a table at the end of one of the hallways knocked to the ground. He narrowed his eyes as he walked up to it.

"What happened?" Kirche asked curiously.

"Probably just someone's Familiar running loose," Kazuma eased. He narrowed his eyes further as he noticed a small, dusty mark on one shard of the pot. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it for now."

Kirche sighed in exasperation.

* * *

Back at Osmond's office, Colbert walked through the door with a sigh. "Sorry for the interruption, it seems Guiche de Gramont had challenged Kirche von Zerbst's Familiar to a duel."

Osmond nodded as he puffed from his pipe. "Yes, I'm aware. I saw it all."

Colbert raised an eyebrow and asked, "Then…what did you think?"

Osmond chuckled in amusement. "I must say, that Ddraig has an interesting world view. I think I like him."

Colbert sweat-dropped and asked, "Err…I meant the fight…"

"Oh…well that was quite impressive as well. His skill and strength are far above what would be expected of a normal Familiar."

"About that, I think I may know something about it."

Osmond narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

* * *

Back in Kirche's room, Kirche, wearing a set of revealing lingerie, sat on the edge of her bed as Kazuma sat down on the floor. "Are you sure you'd rather sleep on the floor down there?" Kirche asked confused.

Kazuma nodded in return. "Yes, I usually end up getting intimate with the people I lie in bed with."

Kirche looked at him puzzled.

"I think it'd be best to wait just a little bit on that."

Kirche sighed and shrugged in response, slipping into her bed and closing her eyes.

Kazuma also sat down and closed his eyes.

* * *

Only a little time passed before Kazuma cracked an eye open. He heard Kirche sleeping peacefully in her bed and stood up. '_Sorry about leaving you alone, but I still need to confirm a few things._'

* * *

With those thoughts in his mind he walked out into the hallway and turned to the window nearby. His eyes narrowed as thoughts of curiosity filled his mind. '_I wonder…how long has it been? Ten years? Fifty? One hundred?_'

**'_Careful, those kinds of thoughts will consume you,_'** Ddraig cautioned.

Kazuma sighed as he looked down the hallway in thought. '_Yeah…I know. But I simply passed out after killing that big black bastard dragon. I lost all sense of time. I wonder…if everyone's alright. Rias…Orihime…Miya…Erza…everyone. I can't even be certain if they're all alive. Although…my Command Seals are all intact…and I can feel a remnant of my Tethers…so they must be alive somewhere…maybe not on Midgard but somewhere._'

Ddraig sighed and then commented, **'_We can only hope. At the very least you can be certain Arturia and the others are still alive. Transcendents are nearly indestructible._'**

Kazuma was about to respond when a voice called, "Ddraig?"

Kazuma glanced to the side and saw Siesta standing nearby. "Ah, you're that maid, aren't you? Siesta was it?"

Siesta nodded in agreement. "I'm glad you remembered, Mr. Ddraig."

Kazuma stood up and waved a hand. "Just call me Ddraig, I'm not much for titles. So, what exactly are you here for?"

"Just delivering a set of clean laundry to one of the students."

"Is that so?"

"What about you?" Siesta asked.

"I'm still trying to get used to the school, so I'm taking a look around to familiarize myself with it."

Siesta nodded and asked, "If you want, after I deliver these I could show you around."

Kazuma nodded in return. "That actually sounds like fun. I'll just be right here when you get back."

* * *

It did not take long for Siesta to return to where Kazuma was. "Welcome back," Kazuma remarked amusedly.

Siesta giggled in amusement and nodded. "So, shall we begin?"

Kazuma nodded.

"I suppose we should start with the servants' quarters since I need to go there first."

Kazuma nodded in agreement.

* * *

Soon Siesta took Kazuma to the servants' quarters, and more precisely the kitchen where he was lovingly greeted by the head cook, a tall, burly man with brown hair and brown eyes with a scruffy beard and a happy disposition wearing a chef's uniform.

"Hahah! Welcome our sword!" the man shouted excitedly.

Kazuma blinked curiously. "Pardon? Your sword?"

Siesta motioned to the man and said, "This is the head cook in the academy, Marteau."

Kazuma nodded in his direction. "Nice to meet you."

Marteau walked up and vigorously shook Kazuma's hand. "No, no, the honor is all mine!"

Kazuma pulled his hand from the man's and asked, "While that's all well and good, why did you call me your sword?"

Marteau smiled wide and patted Kazuma's back roughly. "Because, thanks to you, we don't have to take as much guff from the nobles! You really showed that Guiche de Gramont what for, and we all appreciated it! So as our thanks, eat as much as you like! It's not like the nobles are going to eat it anyway, hahahah!"

Kazuma tilted his head in thought. He then turned to Siesta.

Siesta laughed weakly. "Sorry, I honestly didn't expect this to happen."

Kazuma nodded puzzled and sat down at the long table to see the food in front of him. Kazuma looked around and then sighed. "You're too persistent. Well, I'm not one to turn down food though, so I don't mind."

Marteau nodded happily. He then put an arm around Kazuma's shoulder and whispered to him, "Plus our little Siesta seems to have taken a liking to you."

Kazuma blinked curiously. "That so?"

Marteau looked at Kazuma puzzled. "Is that not a good thing?"

Kazuma weakly pointed to a red-faced Siesta.

Marteau sighed in embarrassment. "My bad…"

Kazuma looked at the food curiously and asked, "Hey, Marteau, can I ask you a favor?"

"Anything our sword!" Marteau responded spirited.

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. '_As auspicious as the meaning is…that title will get old really fast._' Shaking the thought from his head Kazuma asked, "Could I get these in flambé?"

Marteau looked at him curiously but then nodded emphatically. "Right, coming up!" He turned to one of his fellow cooks and said, "Get me some alcohol and a flame."

The other cook nodded and ran off.

'_Well, he's got energy, that's for sure,_' Kazuma thought.

Moments later he returned and Marteau bathed the different food items in the alcohol before setting them alight. "Well, there you are, so what will you-?"

Marteau and the others paused as Kazuma took an entire flaming loaf of bread and stuffed it in his mouth, chewing it just enough to swallow it.

Marteau blinked in thought and then laughed heartily. "You like your food hot do you?! That's a real man!"

Kazuma gulped down another bite of food and nodded in appreciation. "The food's all really good, Marteau. You're an excellent cook."

"Awww, you're makin' me blush! Besides, I'm not the only one here who cooks!"

Kazuma nodded and then finished the last of the food before getting up to leave.

* * *

After the meal, Siesta led Kazuma around the remainder of the servant's quarters and then outside the area to the rest of the school.

* * *

Once she showed him the locations of each of the main buildings and rooms and how to get there, she led him back to Kirche's room.

Kazuma commented, "You didn't have to follow me back."

Siesta shook her head. "No, it's alright. Plus I wouldn't want you to get lost."

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. '_Is my lacking sense of direction that obvious…?_'

Ddraig eased, **'_No, I think she's just being kinder than necessary._'**

'_Let's just hope so._'

* * *

The next morning, Kazuma woke up like usual, being shook awake by Kirche.

Kirche stood up with her hands on her hips. "You sleep like a rock."

Kazuma stood up and stretched his neck. "Sorry 'bout that." He then looked at Kirche in thought.

"Something wrong?" she asked curiously.

"No, it's nothing," Kazuma answered.

Kirche shrugged as she left the room, Kazuma following after.

* * *

'_Damn…_' Kazuma thought in irritation.

Zangetsu sighed and asked, **'_What has got you irritated now?_'**

'_She's usually wearing that uniform when I wake up but sleeps in that negligee…_' Kazuma answered in annoyance.

**'_I fail to see your point,_'** Zangetsu answered confused.

**'_He's saying he misses seeing her change in the mornings 'cuz he's on his ass sleepin',_'** Ddraig answered nonchalantly.

**'_Why am I not surprised it is something like that?_'**

"So where are you off to now?" Kazuma asked curiously.

"I've got class today unlike before, so I'll be heading to my classroom," Kirche explained.

"Ah."

Kirche put a hand on her chin in thought. "Which reminds me, I've got to figure out what to do with you."

Kazuma looked at her incredulously. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Kirche looked at him curiously and flattened her brow. "Oh don't give me that look. It's simply that students generally aren't supposed to bring their Familiars to class. Normally they leave them in their rooms or the garden."

"I see. I don't mind waiting for you, it'll give me some more time to look around."

Kirche nodded in response. "Then I'll come and find you after I'm done with class."

Kazuma nodded and asked, "So where's the garden?"

"That place where you thrashed Guiche."

"Oh I remember that, just not how to get there."

"Oh…" Kirche responded lamely. She pointed and said, "It's on the other side of that wall."

Kazuma nodded in understanding and vanished in an instant.

Kirche blinked curiously in response. "Well then…"

* * *

Kazuma appeared in the small garden and saw many other creatures gathered around him.

He looked around disparagingly at the other creatures. "Huh…for some reason I didn't expect them to be this…ugly…" He turned as a small purple ball-like creature with a single large eye hopping on a single black tendril bounced over to him and looked up at him.

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow and shooed the creature away.

Instead it rubbed against his leg and made a vaguely purr-like sound.

Kazuma twitched both eyebrows as a single, black, pointed tendril appeared from his shadow and then smacked the creature away, causing it to slam into the opposite wall and slide down before falling to the ground. Kazuma sighed as he sat down next to the wall he was standing by and looked around.

He raised a hand slightly in front of him, several small, wormlike creatures appearing in his hand.

"Alright you guys, take a look around for me."

The tips of their heads spread apart, resembling horns, as small wings sprouted from their sides as they took off into the sky before a haze covered them and they became invisible.

'_Alright, those guys should be able to look around better than I could last night. Hopefully I can figure out where I am exactly._' Kazuma looked around the area thoughtfully when he heard a strange sound nearby.

Standing up with curiousity, he walked over and saw a doorway leading outside the school.

He walked out and saw a smaller building just beyond the school's walls. "Hmm…must be stables. Still, that's a dragon's howl." Narrowing his eyes in thought he made his way over to the small stone structure.

* * *

The building seemed as he expected, filled with horses, until he got to one of the deeper stalls.

"That's…" he remarked as he saw a large, blue scaled dragon with multiple small horns on the back of its head, dark green eyes, a light blue underside, and elongated arms sitting in the stall, eying him curiously.

Kazuma folded his arms with an amused smirk. "Ah-hah, so you're the one making all that noise."

The dragon growled in curiousity.

"You're Sylphid, correct?" Kazuma asked.

The dragon, Sylphid, nodded slowly.

"Seems you can already understand human speech, impressive."

Sylphid cooed in amusement, reaching one of her clawed hands out, unable to reach through the gate. She grumbled in irritation.

"Now, now, no need to get agitated," Kazuma cautioned as he reached a hand through the gate, patting the back of Sylphid's lightly.

Sylphid growled happily.

"There, happy now?" Kazuma asked lightly.

Sylphid nodded.

Kazuma glanced over and noticed Sylphid's food bowl. He saw that it was empty and sighed. He reached a hand through the gate and red energy sparked at his hand, causing a large slab of meat to form from thin air and fall to the ground.

Sylphid sniffed at the slab curiously and then began happily tearing chunks off to eat.

Kazuma smirked happily when he noticed one of the flying worms return to him. "I guess this Magatama already finished its patrol," he remarked as he placed the creature near the back of his neck, its large horns digging into his skin. "Tch, I'll never get used to that." After a moment he pulled the creature away and it disappeared into mist. "That didn't turn up anything useful," he remarked with a sigh before waving to Sylphid. "I suppose I'll see you later."

Sylphid nodded lightly as she continued eating the meat he'd given her.

* * *

Sometime later, after Kazuma had returned to the garden, he saw Kirche walking towards him.

"So, did you have fun?" he asked lightly.

Kirche sighed heavily. "It was deathly boring. I couldn't stand it."

"I got to sit here and sleep all day," Kazuma replied proudly as he stood up.

"Well aren't you just special," Kirche responded sarcastically.

"So, where to next?" Kazuma asked.

Kirche was about to answer when she leaned over to look past him.

"Something wrong?"

Kirche ignored him as she ran past him.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and followed after her.

* * *

The two of them approached Tabitha who was preparing to leave the academy.

"Tabitha, where are you going so late in the day?" Kirche asked curiously.

Tabitha glanced at Kazuma and then back to Kirche. "Shopping."

Kirche blinked curiously. "Shopping? You? That's unusual. Well, if you're going I might as well join you. Want to come, Ddraig?"

Kazuma shrugged in response and asked, "How do you plan on getting there?"

"Carriage," Tabitha answered.

"Oh, those things are so slow," Kirche answered annoyed. She then perked up as an idea hit her.

* * *

High in the sky, Kazuma, in dragon form, flew, Tabitha and Kirche riding on his neck.

"I don't appreciate you using me as a free ride," Kazuma complained, his deep voice in dragon form booming.

Kirche smiled and lightly massaged the side of his neck. "Aww, come on, don't be like that."

Kazuma just grunted in annoyance before asking, "So where is this place?"

Kirche put a hand above her eyes to block the sun and then pointed down slightly ahead of them. "It's just over there."

"Then we stop here," Kazuma said as he dove to the ground.

"What? Why?" Kirche asked as Kazuma landed on the ground, suddenly reverting to human form, causing the two girls to land on the ground hard.

Kazuma turned around and saw Tabitha lying on her back while Kirche lightly massaged her shapely bum.

"You should warn us next time you do that," Kirche chided as she and Tabitha stood up.

"Sorry, my mistake," Kazuma responded unrepentantly.

"Hmph," Kirche huffed in annoyance.

* * *

Soon the trio made their way into the village walking around the many different shops.

After passing many shops of different types, Kirche sighed and asked, "Tabitha, just what are you looking for here?"

Kazuma just sighed before he glanced over and saw a small shop at the end of an alleyway.

"What's wrong Ddraig?" Kirche asked as she and Tabitha walked up beside him.

"There's something unusual about that shop over there," Kazuma said as he started walking.

Kirche and Tabitha looked at each in thought before following behind him.

* * *

As the trio walked into the tiny shop, Kirche looked around at the many shelves holding a variety of different objects.

"What is this place?" Kirche asked uncomfortably as she looked around. "Everything about it is creepy."

Tabitha lightly swung her wand to swat away a large bug that flew towards her.

"I'm sorry to hear that my dear," a dry, conniving voice remarked.

Kirche and Tabitha instantly looked to the side and saw a young man with pale skin, crimson eyes, and shoulder-length silver hair wearing a light blue shirt, black pants, geta sandals, and an ankle-length black haori with a raining, green matrix code design on it draped over his shoulders.

Kazuma looked to the side glared in frustration. "About time I found you," he said annoyed.

Kirche blinked curiously and asked, "Do you know this creepy guy?"

Kazuma nodded as he walked up to him. "Alright Naoya, I need to ask you a few questions."

"My, my, you know my name already? Ooh, you must be a psychic. Please, tell me what I'm thinking," the strange man, Naoya, said playfully.

"You're thinking that if you don't stop this gibberish I'm going to knock you out."

"Wow! You really are a mind reader!" Naoya responded excitedly.

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. "Whatever, look, just tell me how much time has passed."

Naoya chuckled in amusement. "I never really bothered keeping track of Time. It is much more interesting when she sneaks up on you."

Kazuma twitched both eyebrows. "Alright, then will you at least tell me where I am?"

"Does anyone truly know where they are in this world?"

Kazuma sighed heavily. "Why do I always get an aneurism when talking to you?"

"Maybe it's the sheer amount of joy in your head trying to escape."

"I highly doubt that."

"Well, that aside, I really must thank you for these black dragon scale boots," Naoya said as he picked up a pair of shiny black boots with a blue sheen. "Those scales have proved most useful."

Kazuma gained a tic mark on his head. "Alright you annoying prick, stop speaking in riddles or I'll make sure you turn into a pool of primordial jelly."

"Oh my, so violent. It's not very good to get so aggressive in front of your lady friends," Naoya teased.

Kazuma sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is useless, I'm leaving."

Naoya put a hand on Kazuma's should with a wide grin. "Perhaps I could convince you to stay for just a few moments."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes as he turned around.

"Just follow me."

Kazuma sighed and followed behind him, the perplexed Kirche and Tabitha following behind.

As they neared the desk at the back of the store, a strange new voice said, **"Oy, Partner!"**

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and then looked around.

**"Over here!"**

Kazuma walked over to a barrel of weapons and widened his eyes. Inside he found a rusty sword inside of a black sheath with bandages tied around two spots that held the strap for it to go over the wielder's back.

Kazuma grabbed the sword and pulled it out. "I'll be damned…"

"Aren't you glad you stayed?" Naoya asked with a smirk.

Kazuma churlishly slammed the sword into its scabbard and asked, "Knowing you even he isn't free, so how much are you charging for my friend here?"

Kirche looked at the rusty old sword in confusion. "Friend? He?" Kirche blinked in bewilderment. "I think my Familiar has lost his mind."

"Oh don't worry dear, he didn't have one to begin with," Naoya chimed in, only for Kazuma to slam his head onto the table. "My, that actually hurt. Well, the sword itself is one hundred gold pieces. Although I'll throw in a special item for one-fifty."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes in thought. "What is it?"

Naoya placed a small black scroll with teal edges on the desk.

Kazuma narrowed his eyes and nodded. "Fine. Since I highly doubt a cheapskate like you would go down on the price I'll make this easy and just buy it."

"Now, now, hold it," Kirche interrupted.

"What?"

"If this is something that you want, it's my duty as your Master to buy it for you."

"There's no need to do that," Kazuma argued.

Kirche smiled. "Consider it the traditional gift from Master to Familiar."

Kazuma sighed and shrugged. "So be it."

Naoya chuckled in amusement. "My, my, you do like'em busty, don't you?"

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. "I'm gunna kill you."

* * *

**And there you have it, the first chapter of Dragon of Zerbst. Hopefully everyone of you enjoyed it, and I really would appreciate a review from each of you telling me whether you like this version or the original version of the story, Dragon of Zero, better.  
**


	2. Is to Invite Chaos

**Chapter II**

**Hello to all! Hopefully everyone, or most everyone, enjoyed the first chapter of this alternate version of Dragon of Zero. I am glad that people are actually reviewing the story as well! Also, I have posted a poll on my profile page so it will be most efficient if everyone who has an opinion on whether Dragon of Zero or Dragon of Zerbst is better chooses one of them in the poll on my profile page. I will be continuing to work on Dragon of Zerbst until the plot reaches the same point as where Dragon of Zero has reached. Once that has been accomplished I will tally up the poll results, and the reviews on the story, to see which story won the most votes. So if this story, or Dragon of Zero, matters to you, I suggest you make your opinion known in reviews and the polls. With that out of the way, I would like to thank my coauthor Bakuto Masaki and my newly appointed secondary author TheLastNanaya for their help with the story. So, I cannot think of anything else to add, so might as well move on to the reviewer responses.**

**andrew: Noted.**

**Jose19: Yes, Louise can be nice but she is far, far too bitchy for me. Hence why the story took that turn it did in Dragon of Zero. I greatly dislike her as she is in canon.**

**Yes, I am aware of that. The Void Familiar Runes force the bearer to wholly and completely love their Master, completely ignoring their faults and heightening, however few, good points they have. Though I think in Louise's case the Gandalfr Rune needed a magnifying glass.**

**Lone Gundam: Yeah, it was certainly dark and I really do not like killing off characters in my stories unless I have a good reason. But in this case, I have a very good reason. Yes, it is mostly happening the same way.**

**issic clark: I am glad you do! I will update as often and as frequently as I can. Oh don't worry your little head about that, there will be lemons. I promise.**

**Bakuto Masaki: Why yes it does. I certainly hope so, it seems off to a stronger start.**

**Dark Vizard447: Glad you like it. Yeah, I understand your feelings. As I mentioned before I am also not a big fan of her and, unless circumstances are just right, my feelings about her line up with yours. I see. Somehow I get the feeling you are right so I will take that into consideration when the time to decide comes. Thank you for your review.**

**Xenoguyver: That is understandable. That is...acceptable I suppose. In a way it sort of is a spinoff, but it is a spinoff vying for the position of true story...if that makes any sense.**

**And with that, the reviewer responses are wrapped up. Thank you to all who posted reviews and here is hope for the rest of you. Now, moving on to the actual story.**

* * *

As Kazuma, Kirche, and Tabitha walked out of the shop owned by the unusual and disturbing Naoya, Kirche looked at the rusty sword sitting on Kazuma's back in thought. "Ddraig, what is that sword?"

The sword somehow popped up out of its sheath and a voice spoke, **"Oy, I have a name girly."**

Kirche jumped to the side in shock, while Tabitha looked at it with her normal expression.

Kazuma smirked in amusement. "It's always fun to watch him spook people."

"What _is_ that thing?! I've never seen a sword talk!" Kirche exclaimed.

Kazuma pulled the sword from its sheath and smirked. "This is Derfflingher. He's a sword I obtained long ago from a rock on a beach."

**"Oh thanks, make me sound like some rusty piece of junk you found on the ground,"** the sword, Derfflingher, remarked in annoyance.

"That _is_ what happened."

Kirche put a hand up. "So, is this why you wanted this sword that badly?"

Kazuma nodded in response as he roughly sheathed the blade, causing Derfflingher to grunt. "Yes. Because he's an old friend of mine. Oh, and one thing, since I'm sure Derfflingher is hard to remember or say, you can just call him Derf."

Kirche nodded weakly.

As the two of them spoke Tabitha looked around the area. Once something caught her eye she stopped and turned.

Kirche and Kazuma noticed this and shared a look of confusion.

"Tabitha, what's wrong?" Kirche asked curiously.

Tabitha pointed her staff at Kazuma and said, "Stay here," before tugging on Kirche's cape.

Kirche blinked curiously and smiled apologetically at Kazuma. "Sorry, this should only take a minute."

Kazuma waved a hand dismissively. "Take your time."

He watched as the two walked off down one of the other streets and flicked his wrist, sending one of the flying worms off into the air, turning invisible as it flew.

'_Just because I let you go on your own doesn't mean I'll let you get out of my sight,_' Kazuma thought.

* * *

It took only a few minutes for Kirche and Tabitha to return to where Kazuma was waiting.

"Waiting long?" Kirche asked playfully.

Kazuma shook his head in response. "Nope, barely felt like an hour passed."

Kirche gave him a flat expression.

"So, what is it you two went to get?"

"That's a secret," Kirche said with a smirk.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow curiously. "A good one or a bad one?"

"You'll just have to wait and see."

"Hmph, so be it. So, anything else you two have to do?"

Kirche glanced down at the blue-haired girl, who merely shook her head, and then Kirche turned to Kazuma and did the same.

"Then we should probably get going."

Kirche nodded in agreement as she and Tabitha followed behind him.

* * *

Eventually they reached a small patch of prairie and Kazuma stopped and looked around. "This should be far enough from the city."

Kirche tilted her head curiously. "Far enough for what?"

He closed his eyes and then reopened them to reveal red irises with slit pupils before his body was enveloped in light and he transformed into his dragon form.

"Hmm…for some reason I doubt I will ever get used to that."

Kazuma, in dragon form, then knelt down for Kirche and Tabitha to ride on his neck. "Let's get going, I'm very bored."

Kirche smirked in amusement as she climbed up. "Look who's bored now."

Kazuma huffed before blasting off into the air.

* * *

The trio arrived back at the academy swiftly and Tabitha went her own way while Kazuma and Kirche returned to their shared room.

As Kirche sat on her bed tiredly she asked with light sarcasm, "So, I reunited you with an old friend. Aren't I a wonderful Master?"

"Oh yes, wonderful Master, you are the greatest in the entire universe," Kazuma answered dryly.

Kirche giggled lightly, entertained by his response. "You know, you are quite different than what I expected for a Familiar."

"I would think, considering most of the other Familiars are little more than creatures with heightened intelligence. Although Tabitha's is the exception."

"How true. To think, we're the two students who summoned dragons. I feel quite fortunate, to have such an unusual Familiar."

Kazuma looked at her flatly. "I'm not sure how I feel about that unusual part."

Kirche waved a hand dismissively. "I didn't mean it as an insult if that's what you're thinking. Well, I suppose you can wander around for a bit, I need to take a bath."

Kazuma twitched lightly as he heard that but shook his head when he remembered the other item Naoya had given him. "If that's the case then I'm going to investigate a few things."

"Sure, just try not to be out too late," Kirche requested as she closed the door to her bathroom.

* * *

As Kazuma walked out of Kirche's room he sighed slightly in relief. "Not sure what that was all about."

**'_Oh? What's that?_'** Ddraig asked.

'_Nothing to worry about. For now I need to find a place away from the prying eyes of the rest of the students._'

* * *

Kazuma managed to find such a spot with a secluded courtyard near the back of the school, a small fountain etched in the wall.

As he sat down next to the fountain the black and teal scroll Naoya gave him appeared in his hand in a puff of smoke.

"Might as well see what that crazy bastard put in here," Kazuma remarked as he unrolled the scroll.

As he unrolled it, he saw two symbols came into view with an inscription next to them.

Kazuma read them curiously.

"See? I told you those scales came with a profit."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow curiously and then looked at phrases printed directly next to each symbol. The first one read "Dragon Buster" while the second read out "Dragon Reaver."

Kazuma lightly poked the symbols, flowing a small amount of energy into them, causing two objects to appear in a burst of smoke.

The first was a bladeless sword hilt with a hand guard resembling a dragon's maw that was black with teal markings.

The second was little more than a teal colored orb.

Kazuma narrowed his eyes as he held the objects. "So…he must have pulled these from that bastard." Kazuma raised an eyebrow as he noticed other words poking out from the rolled up section of the scroll.

He unrolled it further and read what was printed. "Getting new tattoos is risky business. They tend to have nasty surprises if they are rush jobs."

He narrowed his eyes in thought before widening them in realization. The gauntlet covering his left hand vanished, exposing the rune he had been given when he became Kirche's Familiar. "So…I was right."

**'_Right about what?_'** Zangetsu asked.

'_This rune. It's effecting me._' Kazuma snapped his fingers, causing an exact clone of himself to appear in a flurry of lights. '_I'll use a Thought Projection to confirm it._' As the copy looked at him, he said, "Use the Tenshigan to see which Magic Circuits it's using.

The clone, a Thought Projection, stood still as its eyes began to change. The normal brown changed to red with no differentiation between the iris and sclera, as well as a series of rings on the eyes, each ring having three tomoe marks on them, the Tenshigan. The Thought Projection looked at Kazuma, it seeing a series of lines and pathways flowing throughout his body, a blue-grey light flowing through the lines.

"Well?" Kazuma asked.

The Thought Projection looked up at him and said, "It's using two Magic Circuits running up your arm, flowing mana from itself to your mana lobe and sending it out into the rest of your brain, causing the alterations."

Kazuma nodded and asked, "Are those Circuits connected to anything vital?"

The Thought Projection shook its head. "No, they've sprouted directly from the Rune."

Kazuma nodded in understanding as the Thought Projection disappeared. He then sighed in frustration. "Great. I'll have to block them off myself." The armor covering the rest of Kazuma's left arm disappeared in a flash of light as he put his right hand over his left arm. He pulsed mana from his hand into his arm, flinching when he felt the Rune surge mana of its own. "Damn…this thing is not going to let go easily." He then flowed mana to his left hand while also flowing mana from his right hand to the spot over the Rune's Magic Circuits. Kazuma grit his teeth slightly as he felt the Rune pulse its own mana to fight back. However, after several moments of coursing his own mana he felt its fighting stop. Sighing he created another Thought Projection that examined his arm with the Tenshigan.

"Its mana reaches halfway up your arm and then stops with a wall of your own mana dispersing it," the Thought Projection explained.

Kazuma sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I see. Which means I'll need to keep that proverbial plug active. That's going to use up a good portion of my concentration just keeping that in place." Kazuma got up and stretched his neck before looking at the two items he'd received from Naoya. "For now I should probably just keep them in this scroll. Putting the Dragon Reaver in myself really wouldn't work. Besides, I don't need Acnologia's soul inside my mind alongside the three of you." Kazuma then returned to Kirche's room.

* * *

As he returned he noticed Tabitha waiting in Kirche's room alongside the dark-skinned redhead.

"Did I miss something?" Kazuma asked.

"No, Tabitha is actually here to speak to you," Kirche explained with mild confusion.

She turned to him and handed a long box to him. He then opened the box and raised an eyebrow. He pulled out a long revolver, with a barrel almost a foot long with grooves going down three sections of it.

Tabitha then explained, "It's called Longtomb Special."

Kazuma nodded and then examined the pistol, before noticing a switch on one side. When he flicked it the long barrel split into three pieces that spread apart in a triangle formation. "A rather nifty weapon." Flicking the weapon up the barrel returned to normal. He outstretched a hand and a golden magic circle appeared in the air which then sunk the gun into.

Kirche blinked curiously. "What was that?"

Kazuma explained, "It's Requip Magic. I use it to store my weapons and armor in a pocket dimension that I then pull them out of. An old friend taught it to me."

Kirche made a silent "Oh" in response.

Kazuma then turned to Tabitha and said, "Thanks for the gun."

Tabitha shook her head and pointed to the window where her dragon Sylphid hung outside.

Kazuma blinked curiously. "Huh…?"

"Sylphid asked me to get it," Tabitha explained.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and said, "Uhm…thanks…Sylphid…?"

The dragon growled happily before flying off.

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow and thought, '_Is it just me or did that thing blush?_'

**'_Probably just you,_'** Ddraig answered.

**"Hey, you're not gonna drop me in that circle thingy are ya?"** Derfflingher asked in concern.

Kazuma shrugged in response. "I might."

Derfflingher immediately sunk into his sheath.

Tabitha bowed and left the room.

After a few moments Kazuma turned to do the same.

Kirche frowned in confusion. "Going out again?"

Kazuma nodded. "Yes, I sometimes like to go back into dragon form and stretch out."

"Oh, okay. Well, I'll probably be going to bed soon so try to be quiet when you come back in."

Kazuma waved a hand in recognition as he left the room, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Kazuma walked out into the field outside the walls of the school and was enveloped in red light as he transformed into his dragon form.

Ddraig remarked, **'_You aren't actually out here to stretch out in dragon form, are you?_'**

Kazuma responded, '_I am. Believe it or not my muscles have been rather tight lately from all this craziness, and basically from fighting that big armored bastard. And stretching out in dragon form provides me with more relief than simply doing so in human form._' As he thought that, he flopped down in his large dragon form.

* * *

He momentarily fell asleep until a familiar voice caught his ear.

"Ddraig, what are you doing out here?" asked Siesta as she walked towards him.

Kazuma turned to her, lying on his back in dragon form, and said, "Merely stretching out my muscles. What about you?"

Nodding, Siesta answered, "Oh, I was just helping Marteau move some supplies." She looked over his dragon form slightly confused and asked, "Uhm…if you don't mind me asking…when was the last time you bathed…?

Kazuma looked at her incredulously. "Are you trying to say I stink?"

Siesta waved her hands frantically. "No, no! That's not it all! It's just…well oftentimes the masters will wash their familiars. I don't think Miss Zerbst has done that."

Kazuma thought for a moment. "Are you offering to?"

"Well…yes…"

Kazuma scratched his chin for a moment and then shrugged. "Sure, I don't mind."

Siesta nodded and ran off to another area of the school.

* * *

Siesta returned moments later with a bucket and a large brush.

Kazuma looked at her and asked, "And that would be…what…exactly?"

Nodding in response, Siesta explained, "It's a brush used to clean larger familiars."

Kazuma nodded in understanding and laid down for Siesta to begin cleaning the scales on his back. As she did he asked, "Why are you doing this, Siesta?"

Siesta looked at him puzzled and thought for a moment before saying, "Ah, well, I just thought you might enjoy getting washed, most familiars do and I'm certain that you haven't gotten cleaned yet so you could be a little dirty…"

Kazuma just in response. "If you don't want to tell me that's fine."

Siesta nodded with a small smile as she continued cleaning the scales on Kazuma's dragon form.

* * *

Siesta spent a good portion of the night finishing cleaning off Kazuma's dragon form.

After drying for a short time, Kazuma was about to get up and leave when he felt an odd sensation against his side. Looking at the spot, he chuckled to himself when he saw Siesta had fallen asleep, lying right next to him.

* * *

The next day, in Osmond's office, a tall man with receding, dark brown hair, a twirled mustache, and blue eyes wearing an extravagant red and yellow outfit with a wide-brimmed neck stood opposite Osmond's desk holding a piece of paper. "All I ask is for your signature to agree to this proposal."

Osmond frowned uncertainly and then lifted his staff slightly, causing a quill to float into the air and write on the piece of paper before the man rolled up the document.

The man nodded with a smirk and said, "We appreciate the academy's understanding and cooperation."

Osmond replied, "We cannot oppose if it is a direct order from the royal palace, Count Mott."

The man, Count Mott, nodded and turned to leave, Longueville bowing to him as he did. "Ah, Miss Longueville, care to join me for dinner?" Count Mott asked shiftily, stealing a none-too-shy glance at her plentiful bust.

"As…interesting, a prospect as that is, I'm afraid I will have to pass," she rebutted.

"Very well, I will be on my way," Mott answered as he left.

After he left Longueville huffed in disgust and then walked into the office and picked up a pile of books and asked, "So what did the palace demand this time?"

"Nothing much," Osmond responded. "They were simply cautioning us about a thief."

"Thief?" Longueville answered as she struggled to put the books on a high shelf, only to pull out a wand and levitate them to the top.

"Yes, Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt."

Longueville raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I don't know that name."

"It seems whoever it is has only been stealing valuables from nobles."

"Is that so? Why would they warn us about him?"

Osmond nodded and explained, "We're holding on to the Staff of Destruction for the palace, they wouldn't want it stolen."

"Staff of Destruction? Sounds dangerous," Longueville remarked.

Osmond then angled his staff at the paperweight on his desk which resembled a bent hand with a pointing finger. It flew over to the other side of the room and stroked down Longueville's back, giving her chills. Osmond found it quite amusing, Longueville, however, did not as she threw said paperweight at him.

* * *

Kazuma slowly woke up and looked around. It took him a moment to realize he was back in human form. Shaking his head he mumbled, "Great…I fell asleep out here." He then looked around and wondered, "Where's…Siesta…?"

Ddraig commented, **'_Don't know. I felt her presence disappear only a little while ago, but she took off quick._'**

Kazuma sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well…shit. Now I'll probably never make it back to Kirche's room."

**'_Even after all this time your sense of direction is still shit?_'**

'_Bite me._'

* * *

Kazuma wandered around the area some hoping to make his way back to Kirche's room to no avail. What he did find, however, was Siesta sitting near a fountain washing laundry. Raising an eyebrow he asked, "Siesta, what are you up to?"

Siesta blinked and then looked at him. "Oh, Ddraig, you're finally awake."

Kazuma sighed weakly. "Yeah, don't really know what happened but next thing I knew I woke up in that field back in human form. But…are you washing laundry?"

Siesta nodded as she continued. "Yes, as one of the servants it's my job to do this."

Kazuma frowned in annoyance and then folded his arms in thought. "You know, I could help with that."

Siesta looked at Kazuma surprised. "Ah, n-no, I couldn't ask you to do that…"

Kazuma smirked and snapped his fingers, "It wouldn't be me, strictly speaking." A moment later multiple Thought Projections shimmered into existence.

Siesta looked at Kazuma astonished. "Y-you can use magic like that? I've never actually seen magic that can do that before."

Kazuma nodded in understanding. "It's actually a unique spell I learned when I was younger, it's called Thought Projection. Oh, and if you're still against me helping you wash this stuff, consider it thanks for giving me that clean last night. Didn't really need it but it certainly felt good."

Siesta nodded with a smile. "I'm glad I could help."

Kazuma waved a hand as he pointed towards the clothing and his Thought Projections took over. As they did he twitched an eyebrow at one of the items they picked up. "That's…rather silky…"

Siesta giggled in amusement. "Well, to keep things proper, female servants wash the female students' laundry and male servants the male students' laundry."

"Ah…I see. Well, I suppose I've experienced worse, and weirder." He then glanced at Siesta slyly. "What about you?"

Siesta blinked in thought and then turned bright red. "Ah, well…I…don't…really…"

Kazuma blinked in curiousity. "What do you mean?"

"Servants can't really afford undergarments. As a result, most of us don't wear any."

Kazuma stood still for a moment as a single drop of blood escaped his nose. Shaking his head vigorously he sighed. "Oh…well…sorry, I didn't know."

Siesta shook her head in response. "You needn't apologize, you had no way of knowing."

Kazuma just chuckled weakly. "Either way, that's a little strange personally."

Siesta laughed good-naturedly. "That's not surprising, as a knight I'm sure you're used to more wealthy situations."

Kazuma blinked curiously. "Knight?"

Siesta raised an eyebrow. "With that armor, aren't you a knight?"

Kazuma examined his armor and then responded, "Well…strictly speaking I'm not human, remember?"

Siesta frowned in thought and asked, "Then…what are you exactly…?"

Kazuma scratched his cheek with a weak smile and asked, "Well…how much time do you have?"

Siesta looked at him puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Kazuma waved a hand. "Not much really. It's just that what I am is a little more complicated than naming a single race. For a variety of reasons what I am includes a lot of hyphens."

Siesta tilted her head befuddled. "Hy...phens…?"

Kazuma slumped his shoulders and mumbled, "Just forget it…"

Siesta laughed in amusement.

"Did I say something funny?" Kazuma asked with a bemused smile.

Siesta shook her head in response. "No, you just have a funny way of putting things, that's all."

Kazuma gave a toothy grin and replied, "Glad I could be of help. Oh, looks like they're done."

The last Thought Projection placed the basket of dried clothes next to the two talking individuals and vanished.

Siesta looked at the clothes in surprise. "Wow, they're even dried."

Kazuma held out a hand as a flame formed in the palm of his hand. "I have perfect control over the four main elements. So creating warm air to dry clothes isn't very difficult."

Siesta turned to Kazuma in surprise. "You can…use magic without a wand?"

Kazuma nodded. "Yes. Honestly I was surprised to see all the students here using wands. It seems a little inefficient. But considering where I am, it's not too surprising."

Siesta raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Kazuma shook his head. "Ah, nevermind. I was just babbling. Do you need help carrying these back?"

Siesta shook her head and picked up the two baskets of laundry before leaving.

As she entered the side door Kazuma sighed in relief.

Ddraig teased, **'_Way to go genius._'**

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. '_Hey, it's not my fault. That girl's so nice I let my guard down. Those boobs don't hurt either._'

**'_Is that all you think about?_'** Zangetsu asked annoyed.

'_Not all, just most of what I think about._' Kazuma then made his way back into the main tower with a sigh. "Great…now I have to try and find my way back."

* * *

Eventually Kazuma found his way to what he thought was the tower Kirche's room was in.

As he walked into her room, he noticed she was there, sitting on her bed quietly.

"Well, don't you have class today?" Kazuma asked.

"Hmm? Oh, no," Kirche answered absentmindedly.

Kazuma furrowed his brow in thought. "Is something wrong?"

Kirche smiled weakly. "No, just getting nostalgic."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow as he noticed a small book in her hand. "What's that?"

"A family heirloom, it's just some old book no one knows the origin of." After spouting that offhanded remark, she tossed the book back into a small decorative box on her table. "So what kept you out all night long?"

Kazuma sweat-dropped lightly. "Let's uh…not talk about that."

Kirche pouted lightly as she looked at him.

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. '_Sh-shit. How can someone like her be that cute?_' "Ahem, anyway, if you don't mind me asking, where are you from? You certainly don't look like the other people of this country, Tristain was it?"

"Observant, aren't you?" Kirche asked with a smirk. "I'm from a country called Germania."

Kazuma blinked in curiosity. "Germania? I'm afraid I haven't a clue where or what that is."

"It's one of the border nations to Tristain."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and asked, "If that's so, why are you here in Tristain? Isn't there a school for magic in Germania?"

Kirche gained a tic mark as she thought about it before sighing heavily. "Yes, there is but…well I was kicked out because the crones who ran the school thought I was a 'nuisance'."

Kazuma looked at her puzzled. "Really? You don't seem like that to me. Though considering you called them crones I can imagine a few reasons they wouldn't like you. Most of it in their own heads."

"Right?!" Kirche asked happy he saw things her way. "And then when that happened my family tried to force me into a marriage with some old geezer, so I ran off to this country so I could practice magic in peace."

Kazuma then began laughing amusedly.

Kirche moaned in annoyance and asked, "What's so funny?"

Kazuma sighed as his laughing subsided and explained, "About what you said, nothing. It's just a similar situation to someone I used to know. A beautiful redhead like yourself thrown into a marriage she wanted no part in. So I challenged her fiancé to a fight and ripped the wings off that overgrown peacock. Of course the prize for winning was his marriage to her got cut off."

Kirche looked at him curiously. "You wouldn't consider doing the same for me, would you…?" she asked playfully.

Kazuma shrugged. "I may. Though I don't want to barge into something I don't have all the information on yet. So I suppose for now you'll just have to stick around for a while."

Kirche smiled and responded, "I don't have a problem with that…"

**"Ahem, don't forget you're not alone in here,"** Derfflingher interrupted.

Kazuma and Kirche looked at him annoyed.

Kazuma sighed. "You still have that unnatural talent to break the mood."

**"Isn't that why you love me?"**

"It's why I might smelt you down for some brass knuckles."

**"…That's cold…"**

Kirche sighed in disappointment. "You know, I've told you so much about myself but I don't think you've told me anything about yourself."

"Hmm…that's a slightly more longwinded tale than your own, so I wouldn't be able to make it quite as concise as that which you've told me."

Kirche frowned incredulously but sighed in resignation. "So be it." Kirche then stood up and walked over to where she kept her wand.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow curiously. "What are you up to?"

"I'm going to do some practice."

"I assume you mean practicing your magic?"

Kirche nodded.

"I've never actually seen wand-based magic before."

Kirche raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Is there magic besides that?"

Kazuma looked at her puzzled. "Of course there is. There's magic that uses wands, obviously, but there's also other types as well. The type I'm most familiar with is spirit artes."

"Spirit…artes…? Is that like the magic elves use?"

Kazuma blinked in thought. "Elves?"

"You do know what elves are, don't you?"

Kazuma frowned in annoyance. "Yes I know what elves are, I'm just wondering how you do."

Kirche tilted her head in thought. "I suppose you don't know about the Promised Land then, do you?"

Kazuma folded his arms in response. "No, I can't say I do."

"Oh boy. I don't really know all the specifics myself since it's really got nothing to do with me, but what I _do_ know is that there's a large tract of land that the elves live on that the other nations want for some reason. They also use really weird magic that makes them pretty intimidating."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes in thought. '_Something doesn't seem right here. Nothing I can do about it right now though._'

"Well, that's not important, since it doesn't have any effect on us, right? So, how about I get practicing?"

Kazuma nodded as he merely sat down. "It seems odd for you to be practicing."

Kirche frowned in annoyance. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nevermind, I was just spouting what entered my head."

"Hmph." Kirche pointed her wand at three pebbles in front of her. "Now, let's see if I can get a different result from before."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow as he watched her.

"Lel, in, yan," Kirche chanted as the stones lit up. After a few moments the light dimmed revealing the stones to have turned to brass. Kirche sighed in relief.

"You didn't seem to expect that result."

Kirche shook her head with an embarrassed smile. "Honestly I didn't. Last time I tried it out the stones just exploded."

"It makes them good bombs at least."

Kirche looked at him flatly and flicked her wand, causing one of the brass pebbles to fly at him. To her surprise, however, right before it hit him it seemed to impact a field of some sort and disintegrated as red energy sparked from it. "What was that?!"

Kazuma sighed. "It's a power that I have, it's a sort of reflexive barrier that causes objects that get near me that are a threat to dissolve."

Kirche blinked in thought as she picked up another pebble and flicked it at him with her fingers.

As before, the stone dissolved before reaching him.

"That's rather impressive. Is it something I can learn to do?" Kirche asked intrigued.

Kazuma shook his head. "No. It's not an ability that I learned, it's just something that I have."

"Oh…" Kirche responded in disappointment.

"You know, you really seem to have a strong desire to learn or get new or different things."

"Of course," Kirche answered with a confident smirk. "I don't want to just be another pretty face. I want to have an identity all my own."

Kazuma sighed as he scratched his head. "…Ah…"

Kirche looked at him suspiciously. "What was that for?"

Kazuma waved a hand dismissively. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

Kirche nodded and looked around on her desk. "Now…I need…ohh, where is it?"

Kazuma raised an eyebrow curiously. "Something wrong?"

Kirche turned to him, knelt down to look for something. "There's a new spell we learned yesterday and we're supposed to demonstrate it during the next day of class. The professor gave us an iron weight to use but I can't find it."

Kazuma blinked in thought. "Do you know what the weight looked like and how heavy it was?"

Kirche sat down on her bed in thought. "Well…it was a cylinder about this big," she used her hands to demonstrate how tall and wide it was, "and I think he said it was about two kilograms."

Kazuma nodded and extended a hand forward.

Kirche watched in surprise as the red energy once again sparked from his hand, this time as a brown cylinder appeared in his hand. She leaned forward in surprise to look at it, unintentionally causing her chest to bounce appealingly. "That's it! Is that also one of your abilities?"

Kazuma nodded as he handed the weight to her. "It is." As she set the weight down on her desk and picked up her wand, Kazuma asked, "So what's this spell supposed to do?"

"It's supposed to turn the weight into silver. It's a really complex spell too." She reached into her desk and pulled out a small slip of paper with a series of words written on it. After looking over the list she chanted the series of words written on the piece of paper and then flicked her wand at the iron weight. There was no effect for several seconds so she lightly tapped the iron weight. She immediately regretted doing so as it exploded.

Kirche twitched an eyebrow before sighing in exasperation. "Dammit, it happened again."

Kazuma waved the smoke away from his face as it flowed out of the room. "Somehow I doubt that was supposed to happen."

Kirche turned to Kazuma with an annoyed, pouting face. "Of course not."

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. '_Damn…cute…_' "I see that your iron weight isn't here anymore."

Kirche turned around in shock as she realized it was gone. "Aww, come on!"

Kazuma chuckled in amusement as he stood up and created another weight that he set on her desk. "Now, now, no need to get so agitated." Kazuma pulled a chair over and sat down beside her. "Now before you try that again one thing I noticed is the delay on that reaction."

Kirche nodded in disappointment. "Whenever they explode like that there's always a delay."

"Which probably means there's a problem with your mana flow."

Kirche looked at him curiously. "How can you tell?"

"That delay. A spell's reaction, whatever it may be, good or bad, is delayed like that only when the amount of mana you flow into it is insufficient. As for the explosion, I could tell from here your mana wasn't correct, it was a little erratic."

"Wow, you really know a lot about magic don't you?"

Kazuma shrugged in response. "I know a little. Now, I've got a way that will allow me to see the mana as it flows through your body, so when I tell you too, perform the spell again."

Kirche raised an eyebrow but nodded in understanding and redirected her attention on the iron weight.

Kazuma took a moment to activate the Tenshigan before nodding to himself. "Okay, give it a shot."

Kirche performed the chant once more and then flicked her wand. Once again the weight didn't respond.

Kazuma immediately placed his hand on it, causing it to disintegrate. "That one was about to blow up too."

Kirche sighed in frustration.

"That said, I figured out your problem."

Kirche turned to him expectantly. "What is it?"

"Well…it's going to take some explanation. So pay close attention."

Kirche nodded in understanding and narrowed her focus onto him.

"First off, have you ever heard of Magic Circuits?" Kazuma asked.

Kirche shook her head. "No, I can't say that term is familiar."

Kazuma nodded. "I assume that you've learned about the circulatory system, nervous system, and so on?"

"A little, I'm not intimately familiar with it," Kirche answered unsurely.

"As long as you know what it is and what it does it's sufficient," Kazuma explained.

"I do."

"Good enough. Well there's one more, invisible, organ system in your body. It goes by different names based on the purpose, Magic Circuits, Chakra Network, and others. It's a network of vessels that flow throughout your body. They carry energy through your body."

"By energy you mean mana, right?"

Kazuma nodded. "Mana is one of the energies it ferries. In ancient times it was most commonly used for an energy called chakra, a combination of mana and physical energy."

"Fascinating," Kirche said, impressed with the newfound information.

"That aside, mana is the only one we're concerned with. Mana is produced in your brain by a section called the mana lobe, mana is then shuttled throughout your body by your Magic Circuits."

"I've never heard any of this before."

"That's not surprising. This is knowledge that was lost hundreds of years ago. Now, there's an object called a Magic Crest. That's what we need to focus on."

"Magic Crest…what is that?" Kirche asked in confusion.

"In a succession of mages, for example, a family with a long history of magic usage, what will happen is a portion of their magic circuits will be carved out of their body or copied at some point. This piece of magic circuitry holds the circuits they used for all of the spells in their lives, it holds remnants of each of their spells that they used. When this piece of circuitry is transplanted into another person, this makes it almost second nature for that successor to learn the spells tied to that Crest. Then, the successor adds new circuits to the Crest as they learn new spells. After that the Crest is taken or copied from them and passed on to a new person who repeats the process, meaning each new generation of mage gets more and more powerful."

Kirche folded her arms under her bust in thought. "I don't think I've got anything like that. So what does this Magic Crest thing have to do with me?"

"It seems you were given a Magic Crest at some point in your life, and whoever implanted it in you did a shitty job since it hasn't integrated properly with your magic circuits, disrupting and screwing with the flow of your mana. That misplaced Crest is why your mana's not flowing properly. It seems for the most part your circuits work fine, but occasionally your mana cycles through the Crest and gets disrupted. It seems that using a new spell is what causes it to go haywire, since the Crest tries to adapt itself to your circuits during the use of the spell but instead disrupts the mana flow."

Kirche frowned in confusion. "But I was never given a Crest, at least, not that I can remember. And my parents never mentioned anything about it."

"I see…well I suppose there's nothing we can do about that now, what we need to do now is fix it," Kazuma explained, his thoughts churning.

Kirche put a hand to her cheek in exasperation. "So how do we go about doing that?"

"I need to flow my mana into your Magic Crest and then forcefully reorganize your magic circuits to fully integrate the Magic Crest into your body. That's pretty much the only way."

Kirche sweat-dropped in response. "That…doesn't sound comfortable."

Kazuma shook his head. "It's our only option aside from removing the Magic Crest, but doing that would make it impossible to use even poor magic. However, like you think, and I'll be blunt here, it's going to hurt like hell."

Kirche gulped in response. "And there's really no other way?"

"Not if you want to keep being a mage."

"Will this really correct all of my hang-ups with magic?"

Kazuma nodded. "Yes, any issues with using magic from this point on will be of your own doing, meaning you can fix them. As long as that thing is as it is, every time you use magic you're playing Russian Roulette. So far all that's happened is your spells have exploded. If you mess up real bad at some point, your magic circuits themselves could explode."

Kirche's eyes widened in shock.

"So yes, it's the only option."

Kirche thought silently for several moments and then nodded surely. "Do it."

"Right, although…there is one slight issue."

Kirche looked at him curiously.

"Your uniform. Your school uniform has a form of enchantment on it that acts as a mana shield. It's not immensely powerful, but it was enough that it took me a few seconds to focus on your Crest and it'll slightly disrupt my flow of mana."

Kirche narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What are you trying to say…?"

Kazuma sighed heavily. "I'm saying that for me to properly realign your Crest and circuits you have to take your uniform off. Well, just your cape and blouse."

Kirche looked at him for a moment and smirked. "I don't mind." She unclipped her cape and pulled her blouse off slowly. "If you wanted to see me naked all you had to was ask."

Kazuma twitched lightly and shook his head. "Right…well that aside, I need to put up a barrier."

Kirche, standing with her torso bare aside from a lacy bra, looked at him curiously. "Why?"

"I need to put up a silencing barrier, because what I'm going to do is going to hurt. A lot." A pulse of light flashed through the room as the barrier was created.

"Erm, one last question," Kirche said.

"And what's that?" Kazuma asked.

"Where is this Magic Crest?"

Kazuma sighed. "It's right over your heart."

Kirche blinked glanced down. She then glanced back up at Kazuma, slight embarrassment hitting her.

Kazuma smiled warmly. "Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything cross, I just want to help you, that's all. Now, it's probably best that you sit down."

Kirche nodded in understanding, sitting down in her chair and slightly pulling her heavenly hills apart.

Kazuma got down on his knees as the gauntlet on his right arm disappeared in a flash of light. Kazuma reached out a hand towards her bosom, pressing a single finger against her sternum, feeling her chest press against his hand slightly. He also noticed her slight tremble as his finger touched her. '_One thing I'll give her is that her skin is extremely smooth._'

**'_You are losing track of the goal,_'** Zangetsu counseled.

Kazuma shook his head and looked up at Kirche. "Now what I'm about to do is going to feel almost like your body's being set on fire, so just be aware of that."

Kirche nodded apprehensively.

"Get ready, I'm going to start."

Kazuma began flowing mana into the section of magic circuit over Kirche's heart.

Kirche winced as she felt the heat from his mana mixing with hers, she noticed the sensation to be very strange.

Kazuma narrowed his eyes as he attempted to reshape the Crest. '_…Damn…that Crest is really resilient. It's not budging an inch. I'll need to use more mana._' As he began to flow more mana, he felt Kirche trembling. "Try to keep it together for just a bit longer, your Crest is really stubborn."

Kirche nodded slowly as she felt small amounts of pain flow through her.

Kazuma retained focus intently on Kirche's circuits as he attempted to reshape them. He felt relief as they began to reshape around the Crest.

However, also at that same moment, Kirche felt the effects of this. "AAAHHH!" Kirche began screaming loudly in pain as she felt an intense pain in her chest.

Kazuma looked up at Kirche and put his concentration further into reorganizing her magic circuits.

* * *

It took several minutes however Kazuma finished and stopped the flow of mana, allowing Kirche to slump back in her chair, the pain having taken quite a toll on her, her body covered in sweat from exhaustion.

She slowly opened her eyes and asked, "Is it…finished…?"

Kazuma nodded. "Yes. I finished the reorganization. How do you feel?"

Kirche breathed heavily and responded, "My whole body's on fire…"

Kazuma nodded in understanding. "I know it hurts, it will die down soon."

Kirche nodded as Kazuma stood up and clapped his hands together. In a sparking of red energy a mauve blanket formed in between his hands as he knelt down and put it over Kirche. "Despite what you feel now you'll get cold in a minute or two."

Kirche merely nodded in acceptance, unable to do much more.

Kazuma then put a hand over Kirche's Crest again, causing her to flinch. "Don't worry, I just need to check and make sure everything's flowing right."

Kirche nodded as she felt another slow flow of heat in her chest.

Kazuma was about to say something else to her when he noticed she was asleep. He smiled lightly. "Guess it took a lot out of her."

However, after a moment the door to Kirche's room opened as Tabitha walked in. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Kirche, sitting on a chair with only a bra to cover her breasts, passed out, breathing heavily, covered in sweat. She turned to Kazuma with a suspicious glare.

"H-hold on. This isn't what it looks like." '_For once,_' he added in his thoughts.

Tabitha nodded in understanding.

Kazuma sighed in relief but widened his eyes as Tabitha extended her wand towards him.

"Pervert," Tabitha chided monotonously.

"…Shit…"

* * *

Outside, Guiche and Montmorency were having another argument in one of the courtyards of the academy when the windows in one of the towers exploded as an object plummeted out of it and slammed into the ground hard.

"What on earth was that?" Guiche asked in bewilderment.

"Don't change the subject you two-timer!" Montmorency snarled.

"Eeek!"

* * *

Kazuma sat in a small crater at the base of the tower Kirche's room was in with a twitching. "That…friggin' hurt. She's almost as bad as Koneko…let's just hope she doesn't somehow find out about rap music."

* * *

Kazuma swiftly made his way back up to Kirche's room where he saw her practicing the same spell she had been practicing earlier. "You certainly bounced back quickly."

Kirche smiled at him with a nod. "I still feel a little unsteady but I can already feel the improvements. See?"

Kazuma looked and saw that the iron weight had been successfully turned into silver. "Good work. Glad it didn't blow up this time."

Kirche nodded and then thought for a moment. "Hey, Ddraig."

"Hm?" Kazuma hummed as he sat down.

"You said that a Crest has whatever spells the previous owners knew, right?"

"Yes, that's true. Why?"

Kirche glanced down at where her Crest was and wondered aloud, "I wonder if it's possible for me to learn any of the spells this Crest has."

Kazuma put a hand to his chin. "Well without knowing who the previous owner was and what spells they knew it's hard to say."

Kirche frowned in disheartenment.

"I said it's hard, not impossible. The easiest way would be to pulse mana through it and just see what happens. But the obvious problem with that is we have no way of knowing what spell will activate or what it will do."

"Can't you fix whatever happens?"

Kazuma scratched his head in thought. "To an extent. As long you don't summon any kind of giant monster I should be able to handle it fairly easily."

Kirche nodded as she stood up and took a long breath. She extended her hand forward, trying to push mana through the Crest in her chest, and attempted to use a spell. After a few short moments a single white dot appeared in the air that expanded into a wide circle, with a strange location visible within it.

Kazuma snapped up out of his seat and clamped his hands on the edges of the strange ring to keep it open. "This…this is a portal…"

"A-a portal? To where?"

Kazuma shook his head. "I don't know." Using force he expanded the ring and looked through it. On the other side of the ring he saw a vast forested area with large creatures roaming through it. One of the strange creatures noticed him and turned to face him. Kazuma deadpanned before releasing the ring, allowing it to snap shut. Sighing, he sat down and folded his arms. "That was rather bizarre."

"You're telling me! What were those things?!" Kirche shouted in confusion and fear.

Kazuma shook his head. "What they were is not what's important. What is, is this: you just opened a portal to another world."

Kirche looked at him blankly for a moment. "Y-you…you're joking, right?"

"I can't be certain how, or why, but I believe it has something to do with your Crest. Somebody who used to own that Crest had the ability to punch holes in the Realms, allowing travel between them."

"Realms…?"

"That's not something that needs explanation at the moment. I wish I knew who implanted that Crest inside your body, and what it can do. Because if it allows you to do things like what we just saw, then there's no telling what it could do."

Kirche's eyes began to sparkle with excitement.

Kazuma lightly bopped her on the head. "Don't get too excited. Having powerful magic you don't understand is just as dangerous, if not more so, than having all of your spells simply explode upon use. What if you try that spell again and instead of just peering to a different world you end up filling the school with monsters, or cause a rift that destroys the school? For now, it's best if you don't try to use that spell again."

Kirche sighed in disappointment but nodded in understanding. "Well you certainly seem to know more about it than I do."

Kazuma put a hand on her head lightly in encouragement. "Don't worry, something like this isn't permanent and it's for your own safety as well as others."

Kirche folded her arms incredulously. "Is a power like that really that dangerous?"

Kazuma nodded in agreement. "Extremely. The ability to open dimensional portals is a powerful ability, one that has dire consequences if not handled correctly."

"How…how do you know that so well?"

"Because I have a similar ability, called Kamui. It allows me to open a portal to a pocket dimension exclusive to myself and also allows me to send anything within range to or from that pocket dimension."

Kirche twitched an eyebrow. "Let me guess, another of those abilities that can't be taught?"

Kazuma frowned and rebutted, "Correct. And besides that, I said I have a _similar_ power. I can't be sure how similar they actually are. The mechanics, effects, duration; those could all be different from Kamui. If they are then I wouldn't be able to help you. The only way this would work is if we found out what magic you have and how to control it."

**"Void Magic,"** Derfflingher interrupted.

Kazuma and Kirche looked at Derfflingher puzzled.

Kazuma asked, "Void Magic? I've never heard of that."

**"It's something the Founder used. That explains everything, even that Familiar Rune you've got,"** Derfflingher explained.

Kazuma narrowed his eyes and picked up the sword. "You seem to know a lot about this stuff. Care to explain it?"

**"Of course. Most of my wielders over the past thousand years have been Void Familiars."**

Nodding, Kazuma asked, "Then what is Void Magic?"

**"It is also known by another name, the Fourth Magic."**

Kazuma's eyes widened.

**"So you've seen the others then?"**

Kazuma nodded. "Yes, I've seen the Second, Third, and Fifth. So Void is the Fourth? What does it do?"

**"It manipulates mana itself. It can create clumps of unstable mana that explode, it can make matching rings of mana in two different Realms that allows travel between them, it can even show another person's memories to the user."**

Kazuma and Kirche looked at Derfflingher in surprise.

"So its capabilities are limitless then?" Kazuma asked.

Derfflingher thought for a moment. **"No, not limitless. There are certain limits to its powers, such as the size of those dimensional rings being limited based on how much mana the user has, or the simple teleportation spell only being able to transport within the range of what the user can see."**

"So, how did Kirche end up with this Magic?"

**"That I can't really answer."**

"Why not?" Kirche asked in confusion.

**"Well, there are four Void countries. Tristain, Gallia, Romalia, and Albion. The most basic requirement is that a Void Mage has to be born in one of these nations."**

Kazuma narrowed his eyes in thought. "Yes, that seemingly would make it impossible for her to have the Void Crest, since she's from Germania. Right?"

Kirche nodded in agreement. "Yes, I was born in Germania last time I checked."

Kazuma folded his arms in thought. "Derf, how specific are those rules for Void Crests?"

**"The Crest will only transfer into someone born in Tristain,"** Derfflingher explained.

Kazuma tilted his head to the side with two fingers pressed against his right temple.

**"Hmm…whatcha thinkin'? I know that expression anywhere. Those gears of yours are turning."**

Kazuma nodded and turned to Kirche. "Kirche, are you one hundred percent certain you were born in Germania?"

Kirche looked at him curiously. "Well, I never really bothered to ask but I assumed I was. Why?"

**"What's going through that head of yours?"** Derfflingher asked.

"You said that the Void Crest bearer has to have been _born_ in Tristain, correct?" Kazuma asked.

Derfflingher remained silent for a moment. **"…Yes…where are you going with this?"**

"Technically, that stipulation is extremely broad. It says someone _born_ in Tristain, not born _and raised_."

**"…Ah!"**

Kirche looked between the two curiously. "What? What?! Tell me!"

"Kirche, what if you weren't actually born in Germania, but in Tristain and then brought to Germania after birth?"

Kirche's eyes widened in realization. "I never thought about that."

**"…You're right. Given the laws implemented by the Founder, it technically is possible that someone born in Tristain but raised in Germania could inherit the Tristainian Void Crest. I never thought about that,"** Derfflingher added.

Kazuma nodded in agreement.

**"So that would explain how Kirche has the Void Crest of Tristain."**

Kirche puffed her cheeks in annoyance. "I'm right here you two."

Kazuma chuckled in amusement. "Sorry, didn't mean to be rude." His smirk then flattened. "Well at the very least we've got that sorted out. All we need to do now is figure out what Void Magic can actually do, that way we can see what abilities you potentially have."

Kirche nodded excitedly.

"But until then, you have to promise me you won't try and use any other spells from the Void Crest. Also, considering that Void Magic is something so powerful, it's best you don't tell anyone you have it. There might be people looking to use it for their own ends."

Kirche sighed in disappointment. "Aww…and here I was thinking I had something special and cool."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes. "That's foolish."

Kirche turned to him in shock. "What?"

"Magic isn't a toy. It's not some cosmetic that you use to show off or prove who you are. Magic is no different than a sword, gun, hammer, or saw. It is a tool with a myriad of purposes that, if used improperly, can lead to death and destruction. If your only goal in using magic is to prove how special you are I strongly suggest that you stop here."

Kirche's eyes widened in shock.

"You need to understand that I don't say this to insult or hurt you. After all, if it weren't for your magic I'd likely be dead. I say this as an aid and a warning. Magic is not a toy, it isn't something to use haphazardly. You need to treat magic like a powerful tool, treat it with respect and reverence; many people can get hurt if you use it poorly."

Kirche lowered her head in response.

Kazuma sighed as he put a hand on her head. "One more thing I should add. I'm also not saying you _are_ using magic poorly. From what I've seen so far you use magic as it's intended. You don't seem to have any foolish or malicious intent for your magic usage, I just want you to try and keep it that way. Okay?" Kazuma asked with a smile.

Kirche looked at him and sighed in defeat. "That stupid smile."

Kazuma grinned in amusement as he lowered his hand. "That's better."

**"So, what next?"** Derfflingher.

"I think it'll be easier to keep ahold of you in here," Kazuma remarked as a golden magic circle opened next to him.

**"Hurk! It better not be cold in there," **Derfflingher remarked as Kazuma placed him inside the circle before it disappeared.

* * *

Outside the castle, Siesta walked towards a carriage carrying a suitcase and wearing more common clothes than usual. She looked back at the school sadly before getting in as the carriage took off.

* * *

After dealing with Kirche's Crest and learning more about the Crest itself and the magic it had, Kazuma decided to take a look around the school while Kirche stayed in her room to practice more. He had given her plenty of iron weights to practice on.

* * *

Kirche twitched an eyebrow as the thirty plus eights sat in front of her. "He has to be a sadist…"

* * *

As he walked around the area, Ddraig asked, **'_You won't get lost now, will you?_'**

Kazuma shrugged in response. '_I managed to memorize Talim's layout, and it was way more complicated than this. I'm certain I can, hopefully, get the layout of this place down eventually._'

Making his way out of the tall tower Kirche's room was in, Kazuma made a Thought Projection that immediately flew up into the air. He then walked out from under the covered pathway between towers so his Thought Projection could see him. After a few seconds the Thought Projection disappeared and Kazuma closed his eyes to look at the layout. '_Okay…there are five towers around a central spire. The lower left tower sits on its own while the other four towers are connected to the large one by covered paths. The lower right tower is the one that Kirche's room is in._' He then looked around in thought but was interrupted by a familiar, boisterous voice.

"Hello there our sword!"

Kazuma turned and saw Marteau walking up to him. "Ah, Marteau, what do you need?"

"I was just curious if you were hungry."

Kazuma shook his head. "Not particularly. I'm trying to memorize the layout of the school right now and it's giving me some trouble. Do you know where Siesta is? She'd probably be able to help me again."

The boisterous man frowned in response. "You haven't heard?"

Kazuma looked at him puzzled. "Heard what?"

"Siesta has gone to work for Count Mott."

"What?" Kazuma asked in confusion and shock.

"Siesta is, like the rest of us, a peasant and a servant moreover, so she, nor any of us, have any say in the matter. She has to work there."

Kazuma clenched his fists and asked, "So what kind of person is this Count Mott?"

Marteau huffed and answered, "A cocky, overbearing, pervert. Unfortunately there's…and he's gone…"

Kazuma had already left the spot, leaving no trace.

Marteau sighed and lightly slapped his face. "Oh boy…this won't end well…"

* * *

Inside Osmond's office, Osmond and Colbert were speaking as Longueville put away more supplies when the door burst open as Kazuma walked through.

Longueville turned to Kazuma surprised, stumbling to hold onto the books she was holding, sighing in relief that they did not fall. Colbert looked at him in worry as Kazuma walked up to Osmond, visibly angry.

Osmond stroked his beard curiously and asked, "I assume you have something important to say to me, for barging into my office like that?"

Kazuma narrowed his eyes and asked, "Did you allow Siesta to be taken by that Count Mott?"

Longueville looked at Kazuma confused and then turned to Osmond annoyed.

Osmond sighed and replied, "Yes, I did. However, given the aid we are given by the palace, and the responsibilities they entrust to us, we have little choice in the matter. There's also the fact that Count Mott is the messenger between the academy and the palace. Meaning that he has quite a bit of influence on the palace on our behalf."

Kazuma tightened a hand and shouted angrily, "You let that bastard take my maid because of that?!" Kazuma then disappeared in a burst of wind.

Osmond blinked curiously and then turned to Colbert. "Did he just say…?"

Colbert nodded weakly. "Y-yes, I believe so. And if he is more than just a human able to transform into a dragon this will end badly."

Osmond nodded in agreement.

Longueville looked between the two and asked puzzled, "Why? What is so dangerous about this situation?"

Colbert scratched his head and explained, "It's the nature of dragons. They are extremely territorial. If they feel that something that belongs to them is in danger of being stolen they will not hesitate to lash out."

Longueville raised an eyebrow and then flinched. "D-does that mean…?"

Osmond sighed heavily. "Yes. Apparently Kirche's familiar has grown attached to that maid. Which means the Count taking her under his command like that is not sitting well with Ddraig."

"We should do something about this swiftly," Colbert warned.

Osmond shook his head. "There is little we _can_ do. I'm sure you've felt it as well. The amount of raw mana emanating off his body even when he's calm. All we can do at this point is hope Count Mott acquiesces to Ddraig's…adamant, request. Otherwise the situation may become tense."

Longueville gulped and then walked out the door. As she did she smirked, intrigued.

* * *

On a long road towards Count Mott's residence, Mott sat in the carriage with Siesta next to him, caressing her cheek. "You don't need to worry anymore, the accommodations at my manor are far nicer than those at that rusty old school."

Siesta flinched as his fingers brushed against her face.

The two stumbled slightly as the carriage suddenly stopped.

Mott growled and demanded, "What's the sudden stop for?!"

The driver answered, "There's someone in the road."

Mott snarled and jumped out of the carriage to see what was happening, Siesta beside him. He raised an eyebrow curiously as he saw who it was.

It was a slender, beautiful young woman with waist-length violet hair and matching violet eyes, and a considerably sizable bust wearing gray, half-frame glasses, as well as a revealing, sleeveless, lilac cheongsam with a small cutout with black markings on it that was just above her bountiful breasts, matching detached sleeves, and white boots with matching black markings to those on the dress. She also held what appeared to be a massive pair of scissors with a panda symbol on the hinge.

Mott looked at the woman curiously before a wry smile formed on his face. "Young woman, are you lost?" he shouted to her.

The woman looked at him with a absent expression and nodded slowly.

Mott's smirk increased as he signaled his men, "Bring her with us as well."

The woman narrowed her eyes as Mott held Siesta close to him, Siesta's face looking away in shame. '_These people…they're the same…as the Imperial Capital._'

Two of Mott's guards walked up the woman, one saying, "Come on, we've got a nice place for you to stay."

The woman looked towards the man as the cover slipped off the scissors she held.

The second guard's eyes widened in shock as the woman opened the scissors wide, and then snapped them shut, bisecting the first guard. He readied his blade and shouted, "You bitch!"

The woman swung her closed scissors upward, slicing the man's sword in half, spinning on one foot and continuing the motion with the scissors, cutting him from the right side of his waist to his left shoulder.

The man's corpse fell to the ground as the woman stood still, staring at Mott blankly.

Mott stepped back trembling as the woman began walking towards him. He then pulled a knife from his pocket, held Siesta close and pressed the blade against her neck in fright. "Stay away!"

The woman stopped and looked at Mott thoughtfully.

Right at that moment Kazuma appeared in a burst of wind near the spot and saw Mott's stopped carriage. He then noticed the two dead guards ahead of the carriage and rushed up to see what was happening. His eyes widened as he saw Mott with Siesta as a hostage. "Let her go you bastard!"

Mott turned and saw Kazuma running towards him, the woman also saw Kazuma and widened her eyes in surprise.

Mott turned to face Siesta towards Kazuma, only to see the brunette disappear. "Wh-where did…?"

Kazuma reappeared in a burst of wind behind Mott.

Mott turned just in time to see Kazuma grab him by the face and slam him into the carriage.

The sheer shock of the situation ended up causing Siesta to pass out on the ground.

As Kazuma held onto his throat, Mott scowled at Kazuma. "You…you bastard…who are you…?"

Kazuma narrowed his eyes and answered, "A dragon you royally pissed off, you pig."

Mott raised an eyebrow and then glanced at Siesta. "Th-that servant girl?! You're doing this because of a damn peasant?!"

Kazuma tightened his grip on the man. "Watch your mouth, swine."

Mott snarled at Kazuma and added, "She's a mere servant! She's mine to do with as I please, you have no right to interfere!"

Kazuma sighed and then frowned angrily as his eyes turned to the Tenshigan. "She's a human being you waste of skin."

Mott gulped and asked, "Wh-what do you want from me?"

At that moment the woman walked up to Kazuma, causing him to drop Mott as his eyes widened.

The woman smiled and waved at him. "Hey, Kazuma."

Kazuma blinked and said in shock, "Sh-Sheele…"

The woman, Sheele, then looked at Mott and said plainly, "That man tried to bring me with him along with this girl."

Kazuma frowned and then turned to the crawling Mott, stepping in front of him. He then knelt down and asked calmly, "Is this true?"

Mott gulped and nodded weakly.

Kazuma stood up with an annoyed. "It's bad enough you took Siesta to make her a sex toy, but then you try to take Sheele as well? People like you make my life a pain. Then again, you also provide my third greatest form of entertainment." Kazuma stretched out a hand and, in a flash of light, the Longtomb Special appeared in his grasp. He aimed the long-barreled gun at Mott and pulled the trigger.

A loud bang reverberated through the area.

Kazuma sighed as the pistol disappeared from his hand. Kazuma then turned to Sheele with a smile, however his soon-to-be celebrations were interrupted by the sounds of angry voices approaching.

Sheele began to sweat heavily.

Kazuma groaned and asked, "Sheele, what'd you do…?"

Sheele pressed her index fingers together anxiously as she explained, "I found a bandit camp and slaughtered them all. I think that's the survivors coming for revenge."

Kazuma scratched the back of his head in annoyance. "Geez…you really are a klutz."

A large group of men in piecemealed armor charged up to the road, the leader of which was a large, muscular man with red eyes.

Kazuma looked at the man curiously. '_He…looks like Ogre…except he has both of his eyes…_'

The muscular man stepped forward and pointed to Sheele. "You wench! You destroyed our camp and slaughtered my men!"

Sheele bowed gracefully. "I'm sorry. I'm just so clumsy."

The man looked at her confused. "Oh, uh…" he then shook his head wildly. "Don't change the subject! I, Orc, leader of the Iron Breakers will make sure you pay personally!"

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. '_Orc? This has got to be another one of Seltsam's sick jokes, just like having Derf._'

At that moment, Siesta woke up and saw Kazuma and Sheele in front of the bandits as Sheele said, "Kazuma, please be careful."

Kazuma waved a hand as he walked forward, "Yeah, yeah. I'll make sure to leave 'em in just a few pieces."

"Why you…!" Orc shouted as he charged with a large broadsword.

Kazuma sighed and stamped his foot on the ground, causing a pillar of stone to rise up swiftly under Orc and catapult him into the sky. "…Yup…he won't be walkin' away from that one." Kazuma then outstretched a hand as Derfflingher appeared in a flash of light. "Now to finish the rest of you."

**"Hey! I can feel again!" **Derfflingher exclaimed happily.

Kazuma then dashed forward in a burst of speed as the other bandits charged as well. Kazuma hacked the first two in half, stabbed the next one, and then jumped over the next two as they flanked him, causing them to stab each other in the chest.

Another charged at him from behind but was sliced in half by Sheele.

The remaining three looked at the two and then charged.

Kazuma summoned Longtomb Special and easily dispatched the remaining group with three shots.

Derfflingher coughed and complained, **"Did you really have to cover me in so much blood?"**

"It happens," Kazuma rebutted as Derfflingher and Longtomb Special vanished in flashes of light. Kazuma turned and saw Siesta was awake.

He turned and walked over to her, though noticed she looked at him apprehensively. He knelt down and outstretched a hand, asking, "Are you hurt?"

Siesta looked from him to his hand apprehensively for a moment but then grabbed it lightly as he helped her stand. "N-no…"

Kazuma frowned and asked, "Do you hate me after seeing that?"

Siesta remained silent for a moment before shaking her head. "No. You came all the way out here just to get me, didn't you?"

Kazuma nodded.

Siesta smiled in response. "Then that's all I need. Although this is a little surprising."

Kazuma sighed and asked, "Well…do you want to go back still?"

Siesta nodded in response. "Yes." She then noticed Sheele. "Who's this?"

Kazuma gaped. "Ah…well…that's a long story…"

* * *

**And with that, the second chapter comes to a close. If you liked it, be sure to post a review, if you did not, go ahead and post one, just be civil about it. As a reminder, this story is an alternate version of Legends of Chaos: Dragon of Zero, so if you have read that story as well be sure to tell me which you like better in a review and do not forget that I have a poll posted on my profile page to more easily tally which story is more popular. So be sure to log an answer there if would. Until next time, buh-bye.  
**


	3. Dragons, Princesses, and Ghosts

**Chapter III**

**Greetings to everyone reading this chapter on this...whatever day it may be when and where you are reading this. Anyway, as you can probably tell this is the next chapter of Legends of Chaos: Dragon of Zerbst. As a reminder, this story and Dragon of Zero are sort of competing for which story I will continue. Be sure to leave a review telling me which story you like better as it will effect which of these two stories I continue. There is also a poll on my profile page that you can vote in to more concretely represent your opinions. As usual I would like to thank my coauthors Bakuto Masaki and TheLastNanaya for their help with this story. So, shall we move on to the reviewer responses?  
**

**Zero Entertainment: Cool.**

**1: Do you mean from Dragon of Zero of from Familiar of Zero canon? Because it will be different from Dragon of Zero and immensely different from canon.**

**2: Naturally. Of course she will.**

**3: I...do not really want to think too hard about that. Honestly Futanari is one of the most disturbing things on the planet as far as I am concerned so Futa is not something you will ever EVER see in my stories. There may be some yuri-type stuff in the lemons in future, but it would be part of a lemon with Kazuma and more of an attempt to get to him than anything else.**

**Hopefully this answered your questions to satisfaction.**

**Lone Gundam: That is kinda the idea. It will not seem to diverge too greatly at first but it will.**

**Well, that wraps up the reviewer responses, so time for the main event.**

* * *

Kazuma, Siesta, and Sheele stood on a deserted road after Kazuma had worked to save Siesta from the hands of Count Mott. Siesta had witness Kazuma and Sheele finishing off a group of bandits that had come to attack them, and was now curious about two things, why Sheele called him Kazuma rather than Ddraig, and who Sheele herself was.

Kazuma gulped and said, "Ah…well…that's a long story…"

Sheele looked at Kazuma and said, "I think she deserves to know at least a little."

Kazuma sighed and then turned to Siesta. "Well…I can tell you this much: Ddraig isn't my real name. It's just an alias I was using in case there was anyone around, enemies specifically, who knew me by my name. And Sheele is a close friend from my home world."

Siesta looked at him curiously. "I don't quite understand all of that but I believe I get the general idea."

"Good. For now we should be heading back before anyone gets incredibly worried."

Siesta nodded in agreement as the three turned to go back to the academy, though Kazuma sighed heavily and asked, "Siesta, do you remember the way back?"

Siesta laughed amusedly. "Yes, don't worry."

"Good, 'cuz I didn't think to memorize the path I took."

* * *

It was almost sunrise when the group finally made their way back to the academy, Kirche seeing Kazuma and Siesta approaching as she, Guiche, and Tabitha stood at the front gate watching and waiting.

Kirche pointed ahead and shouted, "There! There's Ddraig!"

Tabitha narrowed her eyes. "There's someone with him."

Kirche put a hand above her eyes to block the sun and wondered aloud, "Who is it?"

"Don't know," Guiche interjected, "but she's quite beautiful."

As the group approached the academy Kazuma noticed Kirche and the others standing at the entrance. Putting a hand to his face he sighed in annoyance. "I was really hoping to avoid this nonsense for a little bit longer."

Sheele asked, "Who are those people?"

"The busty redhead is my current master in this world."

Sheele raised an eyebrow in thought. "I thought Rias was your master."

Kazuma scratched the back of his head with a sigh. "Yeah…so did I. But I don't even know how much time has passed since I killed that big black bastard."

Sheele looked at him in surprise. "You actually beat it?"

Kazuma grinned as they approached. "Yep. Left me feeling like, well like I just beat a god among dragons but I beat him."

Siesta just looked at the two puzzled.

Kirche frowned as Kazuma and the others approached. "What were you thinking running off like that?"

Kazuma motioned to Siesta and said, "Rescuing her. It seems Count Meathead got himself wrapped up in a bandit attack. Siesta was the only survivor when I got there."

Kirche sighed in response. "You always seem to do crazy stuff. Well I guess since everyone is save it's fine. Although I am curious, who is this with you?"

Kazuma motioned to Sheele and said, "This is Sheele," the purplette bowed respectfully, "my wife."

"What?!" Kirche and Guiche shouted in unified shock.

Sheele waved happily.

"So does that mean she's…one of the people represented on your arm?" Kirche asked unsurely.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow in thought. "No, I don't think so."

Kirche frowned in disappointment. "Just how many wives do you have exactly?"

Sheele began counting and Kazuma interjected, "Don't count for her!"

Sheele laughed uneasily.

Guiche then asked, "So this beautiful lady is taken?"

Kazuma knocked him on his face and said, "Yes, she is. And if you try anything Louise I'll kill you."

Guiche stood up and shouted, "My name's not Louise, it's Guiche!"

Kazuma sighed and then turned to Sheele apologetically. "Sorry your introduction to this place is so messy."

Sheele shook her head with a smile. "Not at all. It's almost as fun as our time in DxD."

Kirche looked at them in confusion. "I have no idea what you're talking about and I don't think I want to know."

Kazuma shook his head. "And even if you did I wouldn't tell you." He then turned to Siesta and said, "I'll take you back to Marteau if you like."

Siesta nodded in agreement as she, Kazuma, and Sheele walked past the group.

"There's so much about Ddraig that I don't know," Kirche as they walked away. She then smirked lightly. "I suppose that's part of what makes him so interesting."

* * *

Kazuma knocked on the door to the servants' quarters and saw Marteau open the door. He motioned to Siesta and said, "I've brought her back home."

Marteau looked at the two surprised and then grinned widely before nodding. "Thank you our sword."

Sheele asked, "Our sword?"

Kazuma sighed and explained, "They consider me to be on the same social rung as them and because I took that blonde noble back there and kicked his ass they consider me their sword against the upper classes."

Sheele giggled happily. "I see, Chaos King."

Kazuma looked off to the side with a light blush. "I really reject calling myself that." Kazuma then looked at Marteau and asked, "Hey, Marteau, you wouldn't happen to have a spare room I could borrow for a night or two do you?"

Marteau looked at Kazuma confused and then nodded with a wide smile. "Of course, there's plenty of room!"

* * *

The next morning, Kirche wandered around the school worriedly.

Kirche then saw Tabitha and walked up to her. "Tabitha, have you seen Ddraig?"

Tabitha shook her head in response.

Kirche put a hand to her cheek in confusion and sighed. "I can't find him anywhere."

At that moment a servant walked by and explained, "He asked Marteau if he could use a room last night, try looking in the servants' quarters."

* * *

"Ddraig? He and his lady friend took one of our spare rooms last night," Marteau explained.

Kirche looked at him shocked and then turned to Tabitha who nodded with her normal expression.

"You said he's in a room with that woman?" Kirche asked confused.

Marteau nodded with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, I can show you if you like."

The two nodded in agreement.

* * *

They soon reach a room in the back corner of the servants' quarters and Marteau motioned to it. "This is the room they took."

Kirche nodded to Tabitha and opened the door.

"Ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Ddraig!" Kirche shouted in exasperation as the door opened, her eyes widening when she saw Kazuma and Sheele lying in the bed beside each other, completely nude.

Kazuma flinched before slowly waking up and sitting up to look at the intruders. He frowned and asked annoyed, "Is there really a reason to wake me this early?"

Kirche gazed in surprise at Kazuma's muscular and scarred torso. However, her admiration quickly died down when she processed the situation, causing her head to dip.

Tabitha narrowed her eyes and aimed her staff at Kazuma.

"W-wait…" Kazuma pleaded.

"Pervert," Tabitha muttered monotonously before shooting a blast of wind from her staff.

* * *

Outside, several students walked around the courtyard as a section of the servants' area of the academy suddenly exploded.

"What was that all about?" Guiche asked in confusion.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Montmorency snipped as she pushed him along.

* * *

Tabitha continued to glare as Kazuma and Sheele lied in a pile of rubble before glancing at Kirche.

Kirche looked at Kazuma with pouting frown.

Kazuma sighed and looked at the two annoyed. Kazuma then flicked a finger after activating his Tenshigan, sending both them and Marteau flying out of the room with a blast of gravity, closing the door with wind. He then used his powers to fix the bed as Sheele got back on it.

Kazuma sighed exasperated as Sheele turned to him.

Rubbing her eyes, Sheele looked around and asked, "What was all that?"

Kazuma shook his head and responded, "Nothing important. So, are you feeling energetic?"

Sheele smiled sweetly at Kazuma.

* * *

Kirche corrected herself and sat up, frowning in frustration. She then sighed and remarked, "I suppose all we can do is wait until they're ready to come out of there." She then stood up and walked away.

Tabitha watched as Kirche walked off and turned to the room Kazuma and Sheele were in with an annoyed glare before following after Kirche.

* * *

Sometime later Sheele and Kazuma emerged from the room as a few servants entered the room and shrieked in horror.

Kazuma scratched his cheek and asked, "Were we too vigorous?"

Sheele shook her head, "I don't believe so."

Kazuma shrugged in response. "Sounds fine for me."

* * *

After leaving the servants' quarters Kazuma was interrupted by another of the servants who said, "Old Osmond wants to speak to you in his office."

Kazuma scratched his cheek and asked, "Erm…where would that be exactly?"

* * *

Kazuma and Sheele reached Osmond's office with the help of the other servant and Kazuma noticed Longueville standing outside the office door.

Longueville turned to the two and smiled. "Welcome. Unfortunately the headmaster's in a meeting. You don't mind waiting until he's finished, do you?"

Kazuma shook his head with a smile. "Not at all. Are you his secretary?"

Longueville looked at him thoughtfully before nodding. "Yes. My name is Longueville."

"Nice to meet you. My name is Kaz, er, Ddraig," Kazuma said with a slight slip.

As several minutes passed with no activity Kazuma asked, "If you don't mind feeding my curiosity, how long have you worked at the old man's secretary?"

Longueville raised an eyebrow and then answered, "I've been here for a little over a year now."

Kazuma nodded in understanding.

After several more minutes of waiting he then asked, "Do you have any family?"

Longueville narrowed her eyes but quickly returned to normal and said, "My, you are a curious one, aren't you?"

Kazuma smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I don't like waiting, I get a bit talkative when I'm bored. Especially if there's a pretty girl around."

Longueville smiled in response, "That's good to know. I'll make sure you aren't bored again."

Kazuma flinched. '_Ow…I do believe I was just rejected._'

**'_Seems like it. But at least she was graceful about it,_'** Ddraig eased.

Longueville then added, "Though if you truly are that curious I have a little sister." She then added bluntly, "She doesn't live around here."

Kazuma smiled weakly. '_She is just beatin' me down._'

**'_With as cute as she is I assume she's used to being hit on all the time. You'd need to use a genjutsu or something to get passed those firmly built defenses of hers._'**

'_Well…I might give it some thought._'

As the time passed further Longueville sighed and walked into the room, very annoyed.

After a few seconds a well-dressed noble stumbled out of the room hurriedly.

Kazuma watched him go frantically as Longueville stepped out with a sweet smile. "He's ready to see you now."

Kazuma nodded in worried understanding. '_Damn, she's almost as scary as Akeno._'

* * *

As he and Sheele walked into the room Longueville closed the door behind them.

Kazuma looked around the room curiously before noticing Osmond at the large desk at the back with Marteau and Siesta on one side.

"Come forward now," Osmond said.

Kazuma and Sheele stepped towards the desk as asked.

"Ooh," Osmond mumbled as he eyed Sheele.

"Ahem," Kazuma cleared his throat roughly.

Osmond looked up and noticed Kazuma's not at all pleased glare and gulped. "Eheheh…anyway, you two are probably curious why you're here, correct?"

Kazuma nodded. "Just a little bit."

"The answer is quite simple. After the help you've given us, getting Siesta back, repelling the bandits that tried to hurt her and killed Mott and the others…" Osmond paused as he observed Sheele and Kazuma but continued when he received no reaction, "Marteau and I came up with a solution as to how to repay you."

Kazuma folded his arms and asked, "And what might that be?"

"Simple. Unless you disagree, Siesta will now become your own personal maid."

Kazuma blinked curiously as he looked at Siesta.

She smiled and nodded in agreement.

Osmond added, "As we were discussing how to pay you back she is the one who actually suggested this."

Kazuma sighed in response and then smiled before turning to Siesta. "I don't mind. Having you around more often to help will actually be beneficial. Of course your presence is always appreciated as well."

Siesta smiled happily in response. "That's good to hear. I hope you enjoy having me as your maid."

Kazuma nodded in return. "I can't see any reason why I wouldn't." He then turned to Osmond. "There is one issue however, though it has no direct relation to Siesta."

Osmond raised an eyebrow and asked, "And what might that be?"

"With myself, Siesta, Kirche, and Sheele all in the same room, such a small space will become quickly crowded."

Osmond nodded in understanding. "What is it you are suggesting?"

With a nod Kazuma responded, "Either a bigger room for Kirche or a separate room for myself, Sheele, and Siesta."

"I see…well unfortunately I can't grant either of those requests."

"What? Why?"

"It is simple. When a student's room is decided, barring no unforeseen accidents, that is the room they keep until they graduate. We also cannot separate a Master and their Familiar unless it is under the Master's express request."

Kazuma frowned in frustration.

"There is one possible workaround however."

Kazuma sighed and asked, "What might that be?"

"There is a spare, unused room right next to Miss Zerbst's. We could move Siesta and your friend into that room right next to the one you currently occupy."

Kazuma scratched his head in thought and then nodded with some annoyance. "I don't particularly like it but I suppose it's acceptable." He turned to Sheele and Siesta and asked, "Does that work for the two of you?"

Siesta and Sheele nodded in agreement.

* * *

Kirche looked at Kazuma, Siesta, and Sheele standing in front of her with surprise. "Is that so?" Kirche asked.

Kazuma nodded in response. "Yes. Siesta has become my personal maid and both she and Sheele will be sharing a room next to this one."

Kirche narrowed her eyes but sighed and then shrugged. "That's fine. You…_will_ share her services, won't you?"

Kazuma turned to Siesta.

Siesta nodded. "I don't mind."

Kirche nodded with a smile. "Good."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes. '_I don't think she's happy._'

* * *

It took only a couple hours for the room next to Kirche's to be set up for Siesta and Sheele.

Kazuma asked with a sigh, "Sure you'll be fine over here?"

Sheele nodded with a smile. "I spent a thousand years not knowing whether you were alive or dead, being in the room right next to yours knowing you're just fine is nothing."

Kazuma chuckled weakly in response. "You certainly have a more positive outlook than I do. But as long as you're okay with it I can accept it."

Siesta looked at the two puzzled as she patted the comforter flat.

* * *

The next day, after getting the rooms sorted out, Kirche left her bathroom after preparing for class and noticed Kazuma was missing. She frowned and walked out of her room.

* * *

As expected, she found Kazuma in the room next door with Siesta and Sheele.

Kirche frowned in disappointment and cleared her throat to get Kazuma's attention.

Kazuma turned to her and walked over. "Need something?"

Kirche nodded in response. "Yes, I'd like you to accompany me to class today."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "But I thought Familiars weren't permitted in the classroom."

"Normally no, but this is a special case. In addition, the Familiar Exhibition is coming up in the next couple days, and I'd like to plan out what we'll be doing."

"Familiar Exhibition?"

"I'll explain on the way."

* * *

After that they left, though to Kirche's frustration, Siesta insisted she come along.

However, as they were on their way to the classroom, the three were interrupted by Tabitha.

"Oh, Tabitha, is something wrong?" Kirche asked.

Tabitha pointed to Kazuma.

Kirche looked at her puzzled. "What do you need with Ddraig?"

"Secret," Tabitha responded succinctly as she walked past Kirche, grabbed Kazuma by the arm, and began dragging him away, leaving Siesta and Kirche equally confused.

Kirche frowned in suspicious irritation. "What could be so secretive that she can't tell me?"

* * *

As the two walked away, Kazuma asked curiously, "Erm…where are you taking me exactly…?"

"To the forest," Tabitha explained.

Kazuma gulped and asked unsurely, "For what purpose?"

"Sylphid wants you as her mate," Tabitha said plainly.

Kazuma stopped and freed his hand from her. "Wait, what?! You do realize she's a normal dragon and I'm not, right?"

Tabitha shook her head and pointed up as Sylphid flew down to where they were.

The dragon looked at Kazuma and growled happily before licking its lips.

Kazuma gulped and said weakly, "Ah…well…while I'm flattered, mixing humans and dragons doesn't work very well."

Tabitha nodded and turned to Sylphid before nodding.

Sylphid responded with a confused howl before Tabitha said, "It's alright."

Sylphid looked at Kazuma before its body was enveloped in light.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and thought, '_What's going on now…?_'

The illuminated form of the dragon began reshape and shrink until it was the size and shape of a human. The light then burst from the humanoid shape allowing Kazuma to see what Sylphid had transformed into, a teenage-looking girl with waist-length, medium blue hair, two locks extending down the front of her body, barely covering her large breasts, two sections of hair near her ears resembling small wings, and bright green eyes who wore no clothing at all.

Kazuma looked at the naked girl in front of him and blinked curiously. "Okay…wait what…?"

Tabitha pointed her staff at Sylphid and said, "She is a Rhyme Dragon, and is able to take human form."

Sylphid nodded in agreement and said happily, "Illococoo wants to make eggs!"

"Ha?" Kazuma asked in confusion.

Tabitha clarified, "She wants you as her mate."

Kazuma blinked in bewilderment and then sighed. "Oh boy. So you're saying your dragon…Illococoo was it?" the dragon-girl nodded in agreement, "You're saying your dragon wants me to be its mate?"

"She!" Illococoo corrected. "Illococoo is a she, not an it!"

Kazuma sighed in exasperation. "Right…but why…?" '_I'm not complaining, I'm just confused as hell._'

Illococoo frowned in confusion. "But you're so strong, a big strong dragon. Illococoo wants you to claim her!"

Kazuma scratched his head in thought. "But isn't there usually some form of ritual that has to go into dragon mating?" '_Unless things have changed._'

Illococoo nodded in agreement. "Yes, but Illococoo told Big Sister to get a gift for Ddraig, and Big Sister gave it to Ddraig."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and then remembered. The Longtomb Special then appeared in his hand in a flash of light. He then looked at Tabitha who nodded in confirmation. Sighing, Kazuma sent the gun back into his Requip circle and thought for a moment. Looking at Illococoo's innocent expression and very attractive body, Kazuma thought, '_Damn…she reminds me _way_ too much of Musubi._' Kazuma then walked up to Illococoo and put his hands on her shoulders. He winced at the look of sheer admiration she gave him and was about to tell her something when a familiar voice echoed through the area.

"Ddraig! Where are you?!" Kirche called as she, Siesta, and Sheele ran up to where Tabitha had taken Kazuma.

Kazuma snarled in annoyance. "Dammit, couldn't they have wait just a few more seconds?"

The three approached and Kirche stopped when she saw Kazuma standing with his hands on the shoulders of a naked Illococoo.

Kirche pointed weakly and asked in bewilderment, "Uhm…what the hell is going on…?"

Siesta tilted her head in confusion.

Sheele merely stood calmly.

Kazuma noticed Kirche pointing and then realized why she was confused and pointing. "Oh crap." Kazuma then pulled his hands off Illococoo and remarked, "What I'm doing is more or less none of your business."

Kirche frowned. "I see…"

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. '_Dammit…I am seriously striking out here…everything I do makes her angrier…_' Kazuma sighed and then turned to Illococoo with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, there are still a few things you need to learn before I'm ready to give you what you want, Illococoo."

"Mooouuu…" Illococoo moaned in irritation as Kazuma walked off, before sighing in defeat.

Tabitha turned to her and stroked her back sympathetically.

Kazuma, Kirche, Siesta, and Sheele then walked away from the area.

* * *

"Although it may be none of my business," Kirche bit sharply, causing Kazuma to wince, "I would like to know why you had your hands on that naked girl."

Kazuma folded his arms in response. "What would you do if I refused to tell you?"

Kirche turned to him with a pouting frown.

Kazuma flinched in response. '_Shit…such an expression on someone so hot is really effective…_'

"Just tell me, please."

Kazuma sighed and then answered, "Turns out Tabitha's dragon wants to mate with me."

Kirche and Siesta looked at him surprised. Sheele, however, did not.

"I-is that true?" Siesta asked.

Kazuma nodded.

Kirche suddenly raised both eyebrows in realization. "So then…that means…"

Kazuma looked at her puzzled. "That means what?"

"When Tabitha pulled me away from you back in the city she was asking me to find something you would like. So…was that all a part of this?"

Kazuma nodded in response. "Yeah, it was."

Kirche sighed. "She really should've just told me, otherwise I would've had her get you something more appealing than a gun."

Kazuma shrugged with a smile. "It's alright. I'm a weapon nut, so a gun is probably the second best thing I could get."

Kirche raised an eyebrow. "What's the best thing you could get?"

"Don't you have a class to go to?" Kazuma diverted.

Kirche widened her eyes as she remembered. "Oh no, sorry, I gotta go!" She then ran off down one of the hallways.

Kazuma sighed in exasperation. He then turned to Sheele and Siesta. "How about we go back to the room?"

The girls nodded in agreement as a powerful gust of wind suddenly blew through the area, causing both Sheele and Siesta's skirts to fly up.

Kazuma felt blood drip from his nose when Siesta's flew up, while Siesta immediately patted it down.

Siesta looked at Kazuma reddened with embarrassment. "D-d-did y-y-you see anything…?!"

Kazuma shook his head unconvincingly with a drop of blood hanging from his nose.

"Ooohhh…" Siesta moaned in embarrassment.

Kazuma sighed as he scratched his head. "Well…that was interesting."

"Please don't say that!" Siesta begged.

Sheele looked at Siesta surprised and asked, "You don't wear any panties?"

Siesta shook her head in response. "No, servants can't afford them."

Kazuma sighed in frustration. "Let's get back to the room before that happens again in case anyone else is around."

Siesta nodded in fervent agreement.

* * *

Back in Siesta and Sheele's shared room, Siesta sighed in exasperation while Kazuma stood in the doorway.

He turned to Siesta and said, "If it's any consolation I'm the only one who saw."

Siesta looked at him with a slightly annoyed expression before sighing lightly. "I guess that's some relief."

"Yeah, we really should do something about that."

"But what? I don't have enough money."

Kazuma tapped a finger in thought.

Sheele suggested, "Kazuma, couldn't you use your alchemy and make some panties for her?"

Kazuma slumped his shoulders in defeat. "Yeah…if I knew what they were made of…"

Sheele blinked and then asked in confusion, "You never learned that?"

Kazuma looked at her with mild annoyance. "That's not really a detail I focus on when most of the time I'm simply removing them from whoever's wearing them." He then raised an eyebrow in thought. "Well…it's stupid but I might have a solution."

Siesta turned to him hopeful. "What is it?"

Kazuma put up a finger to stem her excitement. "Let me make sure first. If you guys don't mind waiting, I'll be right back."

* * *

After getting the idea in mind, Kazuma left the tower and looked around trying to find the proper one. "Let's see…right about now they should be learning water magic, which is…" Kazuma trailed off as he noticed Guiche standing nearby in a flirtatious posture. '_For crap's sake, what's that moron doing now?_'

He overheard Guiche spout, "Your hair falls like rivers of sparkling water, your eyes shining like bronze."

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow in response. '_Seriously? For such idiocy, he deserves a rock to the bonce._' Kazuma outstretched his hand a small pebble formed in his hand as red energy sparked. He reared back his hand and then threw it forward.

* * *

Guiche stood in front of a maid attempting to sweet talk her when he was suddenly struck in the side of the head by a stone. He gripped his head in pain and looked around angrily as Kazuma walked up to him. "You! You're the one who threw that stone, aren't you?!"

Kazuma shrugged in response. "Depends on which stone hit you. I did throw a stone, but there's not much guarantee that's the one that hit you."

Guiche twitched an eyebrow in response. "You really expect me to believe that nonsense? Leave me, I am busy speaking with this fair maiden."

Kazuma walked up to him incredulously. "What fair maiden?" He looked to his side and widened his eyes when he saw a tall and buxom woman with long, navy blue hair that covered her right eye, both eyes being brown, wearing the same maid uniform as Siesta. Kazuma said in shock, "K-Kalawarner?"

Guiche frowned in anger. "You know this maiden? It doesn't matter, one as vulgar as you-"

Kazuma didn't let him finish as he placed his hand on the back of Guiche's head and slammed him down into the cobblestone walkway headfirst.

Guiche merely twitched weakly.

Kazuma sighed and then looked at the woman as he walked up to her. "Kalawarner, what are you doing here?"

The woman, Kalawarner, looked at him equally surprised. "I can't say for sure. When you sent Sheele and I into the Eternal Sword's dimensional gap we wound up here moments later and got separated."

Kazuma nodded in understanding. "Unfortunately we can't talk here. Though looking at you it seems there's a big story behind this."

Kalawarner looked to the side annoyed. "I'm not fond of this place."

"You can tell me about it in a bit." Kazuma then pointed to a nearby tower. "Actually, now that you're here, there's something you might be able to help me with, want to follow me there?"

Kalawarner nodded in agreement.

* * *

Soon enough the two arrived back in the room and Sheele looked in surprise as the door opened.

"Kalawarner!" Sheele shouted in surprise.

Siesta blinked curiously. "Kalawarner? I thought your name was Kana."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow.

Kalawarner folded a hand under her bosom. "Kana was merely a pseudonym I used to work here, Kalawarner is my real name." She then glanced over at Kazuma. "I assume that since she's in here with Sheele saying something like that is fine."

Kazuma nodded. "It is."

Kalawarner nodded as she walked into the room and Kazuma closed the door. She then turned around to him and asked, "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Oh, right that. Well you see, it's actually a favor for Siesta here."

Siesta looked at the two curiously and then gasped. "D-Ddraig! You shouldn't do that!"

Kazuma waved a hand dismissively. He then turned back to Kalawarner. "What I was hoping is if you could loan Siesta some of your panties for a while."

Kalawarner looked at him puzzled and sighed. "Do I even want to know why you want me to do that?"

Kazuma walked up to her and whispered.

Kalawarner raised an eyebrow and then shrugged. "I suppose that's fine."

Siesta gasped in shock. "Y-you're serious?!"

Kalawarner nodded. "Yes. As long as you're fine with it I don't mind."

"O-oh, thank you Kana, I-I mean, Kalawarner."

Kalawarner shook her head with a smile. "Don't worry about it." She then chuckled and added, "Besides, we all need to help each other, since he's about as useful as a bump on a log with this kind of stuff."

Kazuma frowned in annoyance at her.

Kalawarner merely laughed lightly.

Kazuma sighed and then scratched the back of his head. "So, about what I asked before, what exactly are you and Sheele doing here?"

Kalawarner turned to Siesta concerned.

Kazuma put up a hand. "Like I said, I trust Siesta, you don't need to worry about her."

Kalawarner nodded as she sat down next to Sheele. "Sheele and I appeared in this world a little over one year ago. I'm not certain how long the time between when you sent us through the Eternal Sword's dimensional tear and us appearing here lasted but I do know we have been here for just over a year. With no understanding of this world or what it was we had to search around for employment."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes in response.

Sheele waved a hand at him. "We became mercenaries, nothing like what you seem to have immediately thought."

Kazuma nodded in understanding. "That explains some of it, but how did you end up here specifically?"

Sheele chuckled weakly. "Count Mott."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow.

Kalawarner explained, "Someone put a price on Mott's head, Sheele and I came to collect it."

Kazuma sighed in annoyance. "I see. Sorry for stealing your kill."

Kalawarner shook her head. "Don't be. It simply means we'll need to divide the reward up some more." She then smirked playfully. "Of course, since Sheele and I did the hard part we'll get more than you."

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. "You suck."

Kalawarner smirked and then turned to Sheele. "Did you get the proof of the kill?"

Sheele nodded and pulled a fancy, gem-encrusted ring from her pocket.

Kalawarner nodded and then noticed Siesta, trembling in the corner, blue with fear.

Kazuma asked concerned, "Erm…are you alright…?"

Siesta, trembling with fear, thought, '_These people are crazy…_'

* * *

Inside Osmond's office, Osmond tapped his finger in thought and then nodded in agreement. "I don't see a problem with it."

Kirche raised an eyebrow as she, Kazuma, Siesta, and Kalawarner stood opposite Osmond's desk.

Osmond nodded once more. "Yes, I believe Kana being another personal maid for you won't be an issue."

Kazuma smiled with a nod. "Thank you for your graciousness."

Longueville narrowed her eyes as she noticed the peculiar look about Kazuma's eyes whenever she stepped beside him.

As the group left Longueville turned to Osmond and began, "Sir, I believe that familiar was-"

Osmond put a hand up in response. "Yes, I know he was using some sort of spell to influence me. But I honestly don't see an issue with it, we've got so many pretty young maids that handing one or two over to Ddraig, especially with how he helped young Siesta, isn't a big issue."

Longueville sighed in defeat before cringing as she kicked her leg to the side, sending Osmond's mouse familiar flying across the room.

"Oh no!"

* * *

After that, the group returned to their respective rooms. As he entered his and Kirche's shared room he noticed her sitting on her bed looking frustrated.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

Kirche nodded slowly. "Yes, the day after tomorrow is the Familiar Exhibition, and so far I haven't got anything in mind for us to do."

Kazuma nodded as he sat down. "Alright, so explain to me what this Familiar Exhibition is, I might be able to help."

"Right. The day after tomorrow is the Familiar Exhibition. During the exhibition all of the second year students are required to show up with their Familiars on a stage and perform some sort of choreographed presentation to show how in sync they are with their Familiar or what kinds of skills their Familiar has."

Kazuma nodded in understanding. "What's the issue?"

Kirche sighed heavily. "The issue is we don't have any sort of act to put on to show to the judges…"

Kazuma shrugged in response. "I think just me transforming into a dragon oughta do it."

Kirche perked up in response.

"I mean everyone around seemed pretty amazed by that, didn't they?"

Kirche nodded excitedly. "So…can you do anything else?"

Kazuma scratched his cheek in thought. "I can do a lot of things."

Kirche narrowed her eyes in thought. "Can you create weapons?"

Kazuma snapped his fingers and several weapons of varying types emerged from the ground in bursts of red energy, then disintegrated.

"How about transform into things other than a dragon?"

"Like what?"

"Hmm…a horse."

Kazuma's body lit up with bright red, crackling energy before the shape of his body changed and the energy dissipated to reveal a horse.

"How about transforming into other people?"

After returning to his normal form Kazuma asked, "Like who?"

"Mr. Colbert," she answered immediately.

Kazuma nodded and red energy sparked at his feet before riding up his body. When it finished he had transformed into a perfect copy of Colbert.

Kirche folded her arms under her bust in thought as Kazuma returned to his normal form. "How about dancing or swordplay?"

Kazuma nodded in response. "I know a few dances, Lilith wouldn't let me go without having done so, and I fancy myself a master swordsman so I know a few moves."

"Is there anything you can do that I haven't thought of?"

"I can use a special type of magic none of you seem capable of doing and I have contracts with several Summon Spirits."

"You told me about tha-wait…you actually have contracts with some these Spirits?" Kirche asked.

Kazuma nodded.

"Can you show me some of them?"

Kazuma nodded and waved a hand for her to back up. '_I've still got Celsius and Volt's Spyrite crystals, correct?_'

Ddraig answered, **'_Yes, I can still sense them._'**

Kazuma nodded and ordered, "Come to me, Celsius, Volt!"

At that moment two magic circles, one blue-green and one bright blue appeared, flanking Kazuma.

On his left was a young-looking woman with pale grey skin, red eyes, and ice blue hair that extended down to her shoulders in icicle shapes with a sleeveless. black, one-piece outfit that lacked a right leg with a partial skirt that was white with hexagonal shapes and blue lines on it, a long glove of a similar design on her left arm, ice-like pieces on the sides of her head and as an eyepatch over her left eye, and short boots with wide bronze tops.

On his right was a young-looking man with fair skin, wild, light-brown hair, and pink eyes who wore a black one-piece outfit with purple circuitry designs on it that exposed his right arm and right leg, a black tunic that extended to just above his knees, a black shoulder cape with yellow lightning bolt designs that extended down to the ground with large hands on the ends that he seemed to have control over, a lone black shoe on his right foot with the same design as his outfit, a black eyepatch with purple circuitry patterns on it and a large golden ring floating behind him with six circle with spiral patterns on them.

Kirche widened her eyes in shock.

The woman looked around and then looked at Kazuma. "Master, why are we here?"

Kazuma nodded in understanding. "I am this girl's familiar, Celsius."

Celsius turned and looked at Kirche. "Is she related to Rias?"

Kirche raised an eyebrow.

Kazuma shook his head. "I doubt that."

The young man then mumbled, "Bzt bzt bzt bzzt."

Kazuma shook his head. "No, Volt, we're not."

Kirche pointed to the young man, Volt, and asked, "You can understand him?"

Kazuma nodded. "Yes, since I have a contract with Volt I can understand what he says. If I didn't I wouldn't be able to."

Kirche thought for a moment and then asked, "While I'm thinking about it, who's Rias?"

"Someone I used to know, that's all."

"Ah…that aside, are these truly Summon Spirits?"

Kazuma nodded once more. "Yes, Volt and Celsius are the Great Spirit of Lightning and the Great Spirit of Ice respectively."

"Their personalities are…"

Kazuma suggested, "How about I just come up with something for tomorrow?"

Kirche sighed heavily. "I suppose of all the possibilities that is the best option. I guess I'll just get ready for bed."

Kazuma nodded as he snapped his fingers, Volt and Celsius vanishing in flashes of light.

* * *

At that same time in another location, a hooded figure with green hair floated onto the roof of a building. Whispering a spell, the floor under her feet collapsed into sand as she dropped into a room filled with treasures.

She smirked as she walked over to a chest and pointed her wand at it.

The chest popped open after a few seconds and a sculpture emerged which she took in her hands before leaving.

Moments later a group of mages burst into the room and saw the hole in the ceiling before seeing words scribed on the wall that read, "Fouquet was here."

One of the mages scowled angrily.

* * *

The next day, Kazuma awoke to find that Kirche was gone. He was not terribly surprised by that but as he stood up he sighed lightly. "Man, I've been wearing this armor since I got here, it's starting to weigh on me a little." After a moment his armor vanished in a flash, leaving him with the black under armor underneath and his greaves only.

He then made his way over to Siesta, Kalawarner, and Sheele's shared room where the three were talking until he walked in. "Hey, what are you three up to?" he asked.

The trio turned to him, Siesta getting flustered at Kazuma's physique, Kalawarner saying, "Merely trying to figure out what this exhibition everyone is going on about is."

Kazuma shrugged and explained plainly, "It's about the students showing off their Familiars. Simple as that."

"Do you have anything planned?" Sheele asked.

"I've got a few ideas. But I plan to mostly wing it."

Siesta weakly put up a hand and asked, "Erm…why aren't you wearing your armor…?"

Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Don't like it?"

"I…uhm…that's not it…ohh…nevermind."

Kazuma chuckled in amusement. "Don't get so worked up, I'm only teasing."

"So what do you plan on doing today?" Kalawarner asked.

Kazuma scratched his head in thought. "Well I was hoping to bathe actually, it's been a while since I did and I'm still a bit gunky from a previous battle." He then turned to Siesta and asked, "You don't know anywhere I can do that do you?"

Siesta shook her head.

Kalawarner added, "There's a fountain on the far side of the courtyard."

Siesta looked at her shocked and confused.

"Works for me. Guess I'll just bathe there and hope no one shows up."

Siesta blinked curiously. "Uhm…do you want me to come with you?"

Kazuma looked at her thoughtfully. He then shrugged.

* * *

As they made their way to the courtyard, Kazuma glanced to Siesta and said, "You know, you didn't have to come with me."

Siesta shook her head in response. "It's alright. I'm your personal maid, so it's only right that I join you in this. Even if it is unorthodox."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow as they approached the fountain in question. "Oh, and why is that?"

"Well…because people don't generally bathe in the fountains."

"I'm kinda stuck since that steam bath sounds ludicrous. What about you servants? Do you bathe, or just use the same steam baths as the nobles?"

Siesta turned red at the question and sputtered, "I-I-I bathe! It's just that…servants aren't permitted to use the steam baths so we merely sponge down when we get the chance."

Kazuma sighed in frustration. "For crap's sake. These nobles treat you people like dog shit."

Siesta frowned sadly. "Perhaps…but it's our only choice. Either you are lucky enough to be born or adopted by a rich family or you live as one of the lower class."

Kazuma hissed in derision. "Tch, bullshit. I haven't dealt with this crap since that time Roa was in the body of a fat prime minister back in the Imperial Capital."

Siesta tilted her head in bewilderment. "…What…?"

Kazuma sighed in exasperation. "I'm just babbling."

Siesta nodded in understanding. "We're here."

Kazuma walked over to the fountain and frowned. "It's cold." He placed a finger in it and red energy sparked from his hand as the water started steaming and bubbling.

* * *

After a short time, Siesta was standing beside the fountain, though with her back turned so as to not to see anything, while Kazuma sat in the water washing.

Though Siesta occasionally glanced over to him as he washed. Attempting to break the silence she asked, "S-so…have you and Ms. Kirche planned anything for the Familiar Exhibition?"

Scrubbing his head with shampoo in it he answered, "I showed Kirche a few examples of my abilities and she entrusted me to come up with something."

Siesta turned to him surprised. "Really?"

Kazuma nodded. "Yup."

"She must really trust you then since I'm sure she knows Princess Henrietta will be at the exhibition."

Kazuma stopped and then turned to Siesta, his head still bubbling with shampoo, and asked, "Princess Henrietta?"

* * *

In Osmond's office, Longueville was standing in front of the old man's desk with several papers detailing the events of the Familiar Exhibition.

As she spoke, Osmond furrowed his brow with deep concentration.

On the floor, Osmond's mouse slowly inched forward to Longueville's ankles, but immediately ran off as she stamped a foot behind her.

The mouse ran up to his shoulder and he whispered, "Phew, that was a close call. So, what color were her panties this time?"

The mouse squeaked at him.

Osmond frowned in disappointment. "What do you mean you couldn't see them?" Osmond looked ahead and paled as he saw Longueville cackling darkly as her bangs shadowed her eyes, bending her wand in anger.

* * *

Outside, two faculty members walked by as loud crashing, banging, and screaming erupted from within the office.

* * *

Siesta looked at Kazuma curiously. "You don't know who Princess Henrietta is?"

Kazuma shook his head. "No, I'm not from this Realm. Or rather, I haven't been here in a very long time, so I've not heard of her."

Siesta nodded in understanding. "Princess Henrietta de Tristain. She's the crown princess of our country. While her mother is still technically queen, after the death of the king most of the duties of leadership fell to Princess Henrietta."

Kazuma continued scrubbing his head as he asked, "So then why doesn't she just take the position as queen?"

Siesta shook her head in response. "I'm not sure. I don't understand everything but I think it has something to do with that many of the noble families consider Henrietta unfit to rule, especially without a husband to rule as king. And if Queen Marianne were to step down it would create problems. At least…I think. Honestly I don't really know why." She then noticed, while Kazuma rinsed his hair, that he still had one article of clothing on, a necklace with two symbols hanging from it, both resembling swords. One was a black sword with a curved blade and the other was a blue-green sword with a straight blade. "Uhm…pardon me but…what is that necklace?"

Kazuma blinked and then glanced down at it. "It sort of represents two important people in my life."

* * *

In another area of the school, Colbert was speaking to a group of guards in a dark hallway in front of a large wooden door. "I want the two of you to guard the main gate once the festivities start tomorrow."

The guards nodded and walked away.

As they did, Longueville walked up to Colbert confused. "Excuse me, but shouldn't there be guards at the vault?"

Colbert shook his head. "Keeping those two here is more of a formality than anything. This vault door has multiple layers of seals placed by several square-class mages. Even a triangle-class mage couldn't hope to break through it without large amounts of time."

Longueville nodded in understanding as the two walked away.

* * *

A short time later many of the students were gathered by the front gates of the school with several guards at the gates as well, a long red carpet extending from the front entrance out a considerable way.

Moments later an extravagant carriage pulled by many horses, with several armed horsemen rolled up.

Driving the carriage itself was a man who sat next to a young woman with a stern expression who had short, light brown-orange hair in a mixed hime/bob cut, narrow grey eyes, and wore a green uniform with black pants, pieces of armor covering her average sized chest as well as her shoulders, wrists, and ankles along with a long white cape strapped to her shoulders as well as a sword and a pistol at her side..

As the carriage stopped, the woman stepped down and walked around to one side, opening the door to the carriage.

As she did a young woman with short, wavy purple hair with bangs framing her face as well as several hanging just above her bright blue eyes wearing a silver, three-pronged tiara with a jewel in each prong, a long white dress with puffed shoulders and a wide skirt that hugged her curves, exemplifying her large bust as well as a long purple cape held closed with a blue gem and a ring on her right hand that had a deep blue jewel in it.

The armored woman bowed to the purple-haired woman and said, "This way your highness."

The purple-haired woman nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Agnes."

Agnes nodded in return as she and the purple-haired woman walked over the carpet towards the main building of the academy where Osmond, Colbert, and the other teachers stood waiting for them.

As the two walked by the amassed group of students, Kirche stood in the group with a smile. "Princess…" her smile dropped somewhat however before she lowered her head and left the group.

The two walked up to the teachers and the faculty all bowed, with Osmond beginning, "Thank you for honoring us with your presence, Princess Henrietta."

Henrietta bowed lightly in return. "No need to thank me Mr. Osmond. It's my pleasure to come and observe all of the different students and their Familiars."

Osmond motioned to his side as Guiche walked up to him. "If you don't mind Princess, Guiche de Gramont will show you around the school grounds. Then we'll have Mr. Colbert show you to the room you'll be staying in until the exhibition tomorrow."

Henrietta smiled happily. "I do not mind at all."

* * *

Siesta looked at Kazuma as he rested in the warm water. "Haven't you been in there for a long time?"

Kazuma peeked a single eye open at her, his hair finally rinsed of the shampoo and muck that had collected in it. "I haven't been able to bathe in a very long time. It feels wonderful to get a chance to just sit in the warm water like this." After a moment Kazuma sighed before sinking underneath the water level.

Siesta just sighed in confusion as she waited for Kazuma to finish. She tensed however when she heard voices approaching. '_Oh no…this is bad…Kazuma could be punished for bathing in the fountains if they find him…_' She paled however when she realized who was approaching, Henrietta and Agnes. '_Oh no…this is _really_ bad…_'

As the group walked towards the area, Guiche was posturing in his normal manner when he motioned his wand ahead of him and said, "This area back her is not used for very much but…" He blinked in confusion as he saw a trembling Siesta standing near the steaming fountain. He narrowed his eyes and asked in annoyance, "Servant! What's going on here?!"

"N-n-nothing a-a-at a-a-all…" Siesta answered in a tremulous voice.

Guiche narrowed his eyes and then looked at the fountain, asking, "And why is this water-?"

His question was silenced as Kazuma burst up from the fountain, splashing the noble with hot water and knocking him to his feet.

Guiche gaped as he looked at Kazuma standing in front of him, partially because he just emerged from a fountain, and also because he was completely naked.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and asked, "What are you doing here Touché? Are you into guys now?" Kazuma then noticed Siesta gaping in frightened shock. He raised an eyebrow curiously. "What?"

Siesta weakly pointed to the side.

Kazuma turned and saw Henrietta and Agnes standing nearby.

They both looked at him agape, as nothing was hidden, however Henrietta proceeded to collapse with blood coming from her nose.

Agnes clenched her fists and then unsheathed her sword and charged at Kazuma. "How dare you expose yourself in front of the princess!"

Kazuma tensed and jumped into the air, using his Tenshigan to force all of the water from his body and dry off instantly, then equipping his armor as he landed. He then reached for the two miniature blades on his necklace, yanked them from the chain and squeezed one in each hand, the black in his right and the blue-green in his left. Light emanated from his hands before full-sized versions of the blades appeared in his hands.

Agnes narrowed her eyes. "You honestly plan to challenge the captain of the musketeer squad?"

Kazuma readied a combat stance with the black sword in front of him and the green sword parallel to the ground next to his head, facing forward. "You attacked me first, Ms. Captain."

Agnes flinched in annoyance. "I'll forgive you if you apologize to the princess."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "Princess?" He turned back to the girl behind him. He blinked curiously. "That's...the princess?"

Agnes twitched an eyebrow. "You...didn't know...?"

Kazuma turned back to Agnes. "No, now, is our fight actually going to happen or are we just going to stand here?"

Henrietta, who finally managed to stand back up, looked at Agnes concerned. "Please Agnes, don't fight an unnecessary battle."

Agnes narrowed her eyes and sighed, sheathing her blade.

At the same time Kazuma's blades lit up and then returned to their pendant forms on his necklace.

Agnes huffed at Kazuma as she walked by. "You're lucky that the princess was here to stop me from killing you."

Kazuma smirked in rebuttal. "You say that like you could kill me at any time."

"Do you wish to test that theory?"

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and then smirked. "How about we do just that? I'll be participating in the Familiar Exhibition. How about you and I have our actual match there?"

Agnes raised an eyebrow and then nodded with a competitive mien. "I like that idea."

As the two walked away, Kazuma folded his arms in thought.

Siesta turned to him with slight annoyance. "Are you really going to fight her?"

Kazuma nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I don't care how good she is, she won't beat me. She could provide me some entertainment though."

Siesta blushed in response.

Kazuma sighed and asked in mild annoyance, "I mean an exhilarating battle. Why does your head always go to the gutter?"

Siesta just moaned in exasperation.

* * *

Kazuma stretched his shoulder as he walked down one of the academy's hallways as he watched another student walk through the halls. He looked up and grumbled as he watched a stone from the upper edge of the wall slide out and fall down towards the student. He flicked a finger to the side, causing the stone to fly to the side avoiding the student.

The student gasped as the stone crashed on the ground.

Kazuma merely sighed as he walked by the student. He looked up and sneered.

* * *

As Kazuma continued his trek he noticed something unusual, a string extended across a doorway. He looked up and saw a bucket in the rafters. He glanced to the side in annoyance. "Resorting to the most basic of tricks, are we?" He snapped a finger and the string and bucket disintegrated. He leaned his head to the side with a tic mark. "I think that's enough out of you."

A figure floated next to him and flailed tiny arms.

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow as he extended a hand forward. "I've been kind to you so far, but I think you've caused quite enough trouble as it is. Zangetsu!" At that moment, a massive katana with a blade as long as Kazuma was tall and incredibly wide with a golden hilt and pink fabric wrapped around the handle appeared in Kazuma's hand.

The figure froze stiff and then flew off.

Kazuma narrowed his eyes as he stood up. "I think that's enough troublemaking from you, you damned Ghost." He then immediately darted after the figure, his sword, Zangetsu swung behind him.

* * *

Kirche walked through one of the halls of the school with Tabitha when the short bluenette stopped.

Kirche blinked and asked, "Is something wrong Tabitha?"

Tabitha pointed to the side.

Kirche followed where she was pointing and gaped. Kazuma was racing down the halls of the academy with a giant sword, swinging randomly at the air. "H-has my Familiar finally gone insane…?"

Tabitha interjected, "You should stop him."

Kirche nodded and ran over to where she saw Kazuma heading.

* * *

"Get back here dammit!" Kazuma snarled as he swung his blade through the air once more.

"Ddraig!" Kirche shouted as she ran after him, "What's gotten into you!?"

Kazuma then jumped forward and grabbed the figure floating in front of him, which no one else seemed to be able to see and pinned it to the ground.

Kirche looked at him in shock and confusion as this occurred right in front of her.

Kazuma raised his sword into the air and then swung it down, smacking the butt of his sword against the figure he had pinned. "Konso!"

Kirche ran up to him and was about say something when her eyes widened greatly as the figure he was quarreling with became visible to her, a ghostly figure with long, wavy pink hair. "L…Lou…ise…?" she gasped before collapsing on the ground, unconscious.

"Now look what you did!" the ghostly girl shouted at Kazuma.

Kazuma narrowed his eyes as he stood up. "I'll deal with you later," he said sharply.

The girl shrunk back before turning to Kirche. "You should help her…"

Kazuma picked up his unconscious Master. "That's what I intend to do. But I can't have you running around causing anymore trouble."

The girl frowned and asked with annoyance, "Why don't you help her and I'll…I'll just follow behind?"

Kazuma narrowed his eyes but nodded in acceptance.

* * *

Soon the trio, though it appeared merely as a duo to most, arrived in Kirche's room and Kazuma set the busty redhead down on her bed. He put a hand over her forehead and sighed in relief. "Alright, she's just unconscious. She should wake up soon." He then turned to the girl with a frown.

The ghostly girl flinched with a worried gulp.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow as he glanced over at the photo Kirche kept in her room and then to the ghostly girl. He then sighed. "I see, you're Louise I take it?"

The ghostly girl, Louise, raised an eyebrow and then nodded. "Y-yeah…I am. Why do you care?"

Kazuma pointed to the picture.

Louise turned and noticed the photo.

Kazuma scratched his head lightly. "I'm kinda annoyed it took me this long to make the connection. So, I take it there's probably a reason behind your actions?"

Louise nodded in response, annoyed. "Yeah…to get back at those jerks."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"All the students. They were all mean to me so I'm going to get them back."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes in thought. "That student you tried to drop a stone block on didn't do anything to you."

Louise turned to him irritated. "Oh yeah!? How would you know!?"

"He's a first year, he wasn't even here last year."

Louise shrunk back from him. "W-well that's…"

"Misplaced aggression?"

"Ohhh, shut up!" she snapped. She tried to swing at him but Kazuma raised a hand, lazily blocking her punch. She twitched an eyebrow and tried again, unsuccessfully. She tried again, and again, and again, not landing a single blow.

"Why don't you stop wasting your time?"

Louise sighed heavily. "So what do you want?"

"That's what I should be asking you."

Louise huffed in irritation. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nevermind. Listen, for some reason I couldn't use Konso on you, meaning I can't help you pass on."

Louise looked at him irritated. "The lady in the black clothes said that too."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow. '_I'm guessing a Soul Reaper was sent to try and help her pass on. Hmm…_'

"What? You look creepy."

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. "Look you little runt…"

Louise puffed her cheeks. "I'm not a runt! I…I just didn't have time to mature!"

Kazuma sighed and waved a hand. "Nevermind, not what I meant. Anyway, like I said, I can't help you pass on, which is what needs to happen in this situation. If you stay here like this it'll cause problems, beyond your own actions."

Louise lowered her brows.

"So, under normal circumstances I'd use my Zanpakuto to just slay you and be done with it."

Louise backed up, widening her eyes.

"Don't worry, that's a last resort, and I'd prefer not to do that."

Louise calmed down somewhat, though kept a suspicious expression.

"So, tell me something, there has to be some reason you stay here, rather than going off to find sources of mana."

Louise looked slightly to Kazuma's side and frowned.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and glanced to Kirche. "Is it because of her?"

Louise looked at him surprised and then lowered her head and nodded slowly. She then raised her head slightly with a somber expression. "She was the first person who found me…and she stopped the other students from making fun of me after I was gone."

Kazuma frowned slightly. "Meaning you realized you had a friend you didn't know you had."

Louise nodded. "And so…whenever the other students would make fun of her, I'd get'em back."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes. '_Now it's making a little more sense._'

"So…are you…going to get rid of me…?" she asked with a worried expression.

Kazuma sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. "No…I'd say it seems that you aren't really doing any of this out of true malice, just frustration. So, I'll make you a deal: you stop messing with the rest of the students and stick near me or Kirche and I won't have to slay you. Sound good?"

Louise looked at him surprised and nodded.

At that moment Kirche moaned quietly as she came to. She cracked an eye open slowly as she saw Kazuma sitting next to her on her bed. "Oh…Ddraig…" she trailed off as she looked to the side and saw the ghostly form of Louise floating nearby. Her eyes widened in shock.

Kazuma slapped a hand over her mouth. "Shhh, don't scream," Kazuma said quietly.

Kirche nodded slowly as she sat up and looked at Louise in shock. "Louise…? Is that…really you…?"

Louise turned away slightly, somewhat embarrassed, and nodded. She then turned back to Kirche fully with a smile. "Yeah, it's me."

"But how…you…you were…" images of Louise's motionless form entered Kirche's mind, causing her to curl up, putting a hand over her mouth.

Kazuma put a hand on her back and rubbed slowly. "Come on, try and calm down."

Kirche took several breaths and then sat up and looked at Louise. "How…?"

Louise shook her head and looked at her spectral tail. "I don't know. I just know that I got really sleepy after I took that poison and then…then I saw you standing next to me but…I saw it from behind you."

Kirche frowned in confusion. However, her frown then turned into a smile.

Louise looked at her puzzled. "Wh-what…?"

Kirche shook her head in response. "I suppose the best way to say it, is it's good to see you again."

Louise looked at her surprised and glanced to the side in slight abashment. "Y-yeah…"

Kazuma smirked silently. '_I didn't realize Pluses could blush._'

**'_She is not a Plus,_'** Zangetsu remarked.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow. '_You don't say._'

However, their conversation was cut short when a knock was heard at the door.

Kazuma narrowed his eyes and glanced at Louise. "You should probably make yourself scarce."

Louise nodded as she faded from view.

Kazuma walked over to the door curiously. "Who could that be at this time of night?"

A person in a hooded cloak burst into the room and closed the door quickly.

Kirche stood up from her bed in shock and Kazuma reacted on instinct, putting his arm around the person's throat and pulling Derfflingher from his Requip armory.

The hooded figure pleaded, "Please, wait!"

Kirche raised an eyebrow in confusion. "That voice…" her eyes then widened, "Ddraig! Release her!"

Kazuma raised an eyebrow but nodded in understanding, releasing the intruder who pulled down her hood to reveal Henrietta.

Kazuma blinked in confusion and then sighed heavily.

Henrietta sighed as Kazuma released her and then turned to Kirche. "It's been a while, Kirche," she said with a smile.

Kirche nodded slowly, looking off to the side. "Yes, I suppose it has."

Henrietta frowned slightly. "Are you still unable to look me in the eyes?"

Kirche curled her lips down in frustration.

Kazuma narrowed his eyes in confusion. "If you don't mind, I'm a little lost. How do you two know each other?"

Henrietta turned to Kazuma and raised an eyebrow. After a moment her face turned red. "Y-you are…!"

Kazuma looked at her puzzled. "Oh yeah, you were with that knight woman when I was bathing in that fountain."

Kirche looked at him flatly. "Do I even want to know…?"

Kazuma shrugged in response. "It's a long story. So, how do you know our fair acquaintance here?"

"Louise used to go over to the palace and play with the Princess, but, well…you know…"

Kazuma then turned to Henrietta.

"Kirche was there at Louise's funeral and, well, we just started talking," Henrietta explained.

Kazuma nodded in understanding to the surprisingly simple explanation.

Henrietta then looked at Kazuma and asked, "So…you are Kirche's Familiar?"

Kazuma nodded. "Yes, I am."

"And despite how he looks, he's actually a dragon," Kirche appended.

"But…he looks like a normal human," Henrietta remarked.

"I have the ability to transform, and I simply prefer this form," Kazuma explained.

Henrietta nodded slowly in understanding. "In addition to seeing you once again, Kirche, I also wished to see the one they called the best Maestro Dragon, if that's who you are."

Kazuma smirked slyly. "Last I checked you've already seen my entirety."

"Eh…" Henrietta mumbled as the image once again entered her mind, causing her face to turn red.

Kirche narrowed her eyes. "Now I have to know, what happened?"

"I was bathing in the fountain out behind the academy and Henrietta and her tomboy bodyguard stumbled on me there, unfortunately they saw a little more than I'm sure they expected," Kazuma answered.

Kirche blinked curiously and then sighed in exasperation. "Why didn't you just ask to use my bath? It would've been much simpler."

Kazuma just shrugged.

Henrietta then commented, "I heard how Ddraig intervened on those bandits that attacked Count Mott's carriage. I'd like to say it was a shame Mott himself wasn't saved…"

Kazuma raised an eyebrow in thought. "Oh, heard about that already?"

Henrietta nodded in agreement. "Yes, it has been making its rounds through the castle. Kirche, you have a good Familiar."

Kirche nodded slowly in response. "I suppose. Though he's a real handful. It doesn't help that he's a pervert."

Kazuma wagged a finger in the air dismissively. "Nuh-uh, you messed that up."

Kirche looked at him suspiciously. "How so…?"

"I'm a _big_ pervert, don't forget that part."

Kirche merely sighed while Henrietta laughed heavily in amusement.

"It's so much fun just to be around you two. I hope you perform well, Mr. Ddraig," Henrietta complimented.

Kazuma nodded in appreciation as she walked out the door.

Kirche then turned to Kazuma. "Was there a reason for that?"

Kazuma shrugged. "She still had sadness in her eyes, I could see it. So I thought I'd amuse her at least a little."

Kirche looked at him quietly and then gave a small smile. "Well, I suppose that's something nice. I honestly haven't seen her laugh that much in a long time." Kirche then turned to the side. "Louise, are you still there?"

After a moment the pink-haired ghost reappeared with a nod.

"How was it seeing Henrietta again?" Kirche asked curiously.

Louise nodded and then frowned sadly. "I wish I could've talked to her." She then looked up in surprise and looked off to the side brashly. "B-but it doesn't matter…!"

Kazuma and Kirche chuckled in amusement.

"What's so funny?!"

* * *

The next day, regular classes were halted for the familiar exhibition.

Kazuma and Kirche sat in the crowd with the other students as the rest performed their acts.

Kirche sat tensely, uncertain what "Ddraig" had planned for the day and apprehensive about seeing their competition.

Kazuma, however, sat calmly, watching the other students curiously.

He sat disinterestedly as multiple students passed over the stage, performing basic movements and tasks with their Familiars.

His interest picked up mildly when Guiche walked on stage, though he was disappointed when all that happened was Guiche posing with his oversized mole.

However that seemed to be enough to impress many of the girls among the audience, save for a small few.

* * *

Soon after that Montmorency did a dance with her frog familiar, which now had a bow on its head.

However, the crowd became irritated when Tabitha's name was called and she failed to appear.

Moments later a gust of wind erupted as Tabitha, riding on Illococoo's back, flew over the crowd before performing a few small stunts and then landing on the stage, eliciting energetic applause from the crowd.

Even Kazuma gave a nod in acceptance. '_For such a young dragon she's rather deft in the sky,_' he thought.

**'_She's a Rhyme Dragon, that's not surprising. Her kind have always had a particular knack for flight and magic,_'** Ddraig explained.

'_Really? Now that I think about it, Illococoo's probably the first Rhyme Dragon I've met._'

**'_Yes, they're extremely rare. The only reason I even know about them is Igneel used to play around with a few of them when he was raising me._'**

'_Ah…you know…actually, nevermind._'

**'_It's best you don't know._'**

'_Yeah, I figured that._'

As the crowd died down, Kirche's named was called.

Kirche took a slight breath as she and Kazuma walked up to the stage.

As they approached the steps to the stage from the side, Kirche put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Just…try not to be too weird, alright?"

Kazuma nodded with a smile, putting a hand on the redhead's shoulder, "Don't worry, I will."

Kirche nodded in acceptance.

As the two arrived on the stage, Kirche bowed to the crowd, though she was somewhat frustrated Kazuma didn't.

Kazuma noticed her irritated glance and followed suit, bowing to the crowd.

As they both stood up straight, Kirche then announced, "I am Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst. This is my Familiar, Ddraig."

The crowd began murmuring in confusion.

"Ddraig? That's Ddraig?"

"I thought it was a dragon."

"That's just a simple commoner."

Kirche frowned in disappointment but stopped when Kazuma put a hand on her shoulder. "Ignore them. They're just stupid."

She took a breath and was about to speak when suddenly the wind kicked up powerfully as a loud whirring noise filled the air.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow as the area darkened. He looked up and his jaw dropped slightly. "What the hell is that?"

Everyone looked up and saw a massive, mechanical ship shaped like a white dragon, wings spread out wide as multiple dragons soared around it as guards.

Kazuma blinked curiously. "That…is one hell of a ship."

Osmond's eyes widened as the ship descended nearby. "What is she doing here?"

Kazuma heard the old man's question and raised an eyebrow. '_So the captain of this thing is a woman? This oughta be interesting._'

After a few moments the large machine landed and the front gate below the "dragon's" neck opened and multiple people walked out.

Many were knights in full-body armor, Kazuma didn't care about them. Another was a man in blue armor, Kazuma didn't care about him either.

What Kazuma did notice, however, was the person walking amongst the group.

A tall, beautiful woman with long blonde hair that reached past her waist, several bangs hanging down over her forehead, some framing her face, and deep, piercing blue eyes, wearing elaborate silver armor with blue highlights that had thigh-high greaves, elbow-length gauntlets with blue sleeves underneath, large, rounded shoulder armor, a high, pointed collar that was attached to a long, flowing purple cape that flowed behind her, and a main body section that more resembled a swimsuit than armor, with a mostly open section at her chest that showed off her booming bosom. Her large breasts shook enticingly with every graceful step she took, though Kazuma soon noticed one other piece of equipment, a massive, blue and silver sword strapped to her back, the end curving out like an ax head rather than coming to a point.

As she approached the gathering of people, Osmond walked up to her and bowed respectfully.

"So, Miss Veronica Lautreamont, to what do we owe the honor of your…rather unexpected appearance?" Osmond asked.

Veronica nodded in return and answered in a calm, formal tone, "I have come for one simple reason. I wish to challenge the one known as Ddraig."

* * *

**And that is a wrap. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter, if you did be sure to post a review. If you did not go ahead and post a review as well, just keep it civil. Also, do not forget I am weighing this story against Dragon of Zero so be sure to leave a review on which story you like better and vote on the poll. Once I have this story up to the same number of chapters as Dragon of Zero I will take a look at the statistics and decide which story will continue and which will get abandoned.  
**


	4. Freaky Friday

**Chapter IV**

**Well hello everyone and welcome to the fourth chapter of Legends of Chaos: Dragon of Zerbst. Some of you may have deja vu at this moment, and that is apt, as it seems this chapter was removed previously without my knowledge. So as it stands, time to try again. As usual, I would like to thank my coauthors, Bakuto Masaki and TheLastNanaya, for all their help with the story. Might as well move on to the reviewer responses.**

**guest 1012389: I intend to do so.**

**JMK2: Noted.**

**correnhimself316: That seems to be the consensus. How very true.**

**Glad you find it amusing.**

**Well that does it for reviewer responses, not many.**

**WARNING: There is a lemon in this chapter. It will be marked just be aware.**

* * *

In front of Tristain Magic Academy the Familiar Exhibition was underway with Kirche and "Ddraig" about to perform their act. However, their time was interrupted by the arrival of an unexpected visitor, Veronica Lautreamont.

"I have come for one simple reason. I wish to challenge the one known as Ddraig," Veronica declared proudly.

That caused the gathered crowd to gasp.

Kazuma blinked and then tapped Kirche on the shoulder. "Say…who's the blonde bombshell?"

Kirche gave a disappointed glance before explaining, "Her name is Veronica Lautreamont. She's the first crown princess of the Lautreamont Knight Kingdom."

Kazuma nodded as he processed his thoughts. "It seems there's still a lot I need to learn about this world."

"Seems like it."

Osmond gulped and asked timidly, "A-are you sure that's the reason?"

Veronica's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying that I am lying?"

Osmond waved his hands wildly in an appeasing manner. "No, no, not at all! I'm merely surprised that you would come all the way out here to fight a Familiar."

Veronica nodded in understanding. "I am always searching for new foes to test myself, and what I have heard about this Ddraig sounds rather intriguing."

Osmond nodded once more and then motioned towards the large stage.

Kazuma waved with a grin.

Veronica raised an eyebrow. "This is Ddraig?"

"In his human form at least," Osmond responded.

Veronica nodded and turned to the man in blue armor. "Glenn, keep the others back. I wish to see the extent of this familiar's strength."

Glenn nodded in understanding. "Yes, ma'am."

Veronica walked towards the stage and up the stairs, standing opposite Kazuma. "Ddraig, that is your name, correct?" she asked loudly.

Kazuma shrugged in response. "More or less. So, what does a beauty like you want with me?"

Veronica smirked in amusement. "A smooth talker, hm? I will have to disappoint you as flattery is of no use."

Kazuma chuckled in amusement. "It's more to amuse myself than anything." His smirk then instantly vanished. "So, why _are_ you here?"

Veronica grabbed the huge sword on her back, pulled it from its strap and then swung it forward, pointing it at Kazuma. "I have come here…to challenge you to a duel."

Kazuma smirked in amusement. "Is that so? You've come all this way from…wherever it is you came from, just to fight me? Hmph, I'm flattered."

"Hopefully you maintain those good spirits after our duel."

Kazuma shrugged in response. "We'll see."

Kirche looked at him surprised. "Are you seriously accepting her challenge?!"

Kazuma chuckled. "Hey, she challenged me. It'd be rude to deny a woman who's asking. Besides, I'd say this should be pretty good way for me to show what I can do."

Glenn stood up in front of the stage, looking to both sides.

Kazuma and Veronica both nodded to him.

"Begin!"

Veronica began swiftly, rushing forward almost instantly, closing the gap between them in less than a second.

Kazuma smirked as he grabbed the blades from his necklace as they formed in his hands.

* * *

As Veronica and Kazuma's battle begun, Louise floated over to the battlefield, keeping herself invisible from the audience, watching the two curiously.

* * *

Veronica swung her broadsword at Kazuma, but he managed to use the sword in his left hand to block it, though he winced slightly from the sheer force behind the swing.

Kazuma then jumped back, Veronica chasing after him.

However, he leapt over her head as she swung and dashed past her, putting some distance between them.

Kazuma landed on the ground and slid back some before two long tendrils appeared from his back, firing blasts of black and red energy at Veronica.

Veronica effortlessly swatted the two blasts aside, causing them to explode behind her.

The crowd ducked as the explosions rocked the area, Kirche gaping in particular shock as the two's duel continued.

Veronica rushed forward swiftly and thrust her blade at Kazuma.

Kazuma smirked as their bout continued. "Wow, she's not bad. I think she might even be stronger than Gaius."

Veronica raised an eyebrow, having heard his strange ramblings and swung her sword at him, towards his head.

Veronica was shocked, however, when her blade passed right through Kazuma's body before an invisible force sent her flying back. She hissed as she slammed her blade into the base of the stage to steady herself.

Kazuma rushed forward with a smirk on his face and swung one sword down at Veronica; however she dodged to the side and then slammed an armored foot in his side, sending him tumbling away.

Kazuma landed and swept a sword ahead of him, shouting, "Demon Fang!" as a blast of blue energy shot from his blade.

Veronica slammed her sword ahead of her, destroying Kazuma's blast and sending a blast of wind soaring straight for him.

He merely put up a hand and the blast seemed to dissolve into his hand, but it provided a distraction long enough for Veronica to get close.

She swung faster than he expected and managed to cut a gash in the side of his right arm.

He smirked toothily at the wound which healed swiftly. "No way, definitely stronger than Gaius. She might even be as good as Yachiru." He pressed the two blades together, causing them to be bathed in light before the two swords became a single blade, a long, double-edged blade with a gold hilt that had a hand guard resembling golden, feathered wings, a long silver blade with several bright orange jewels, and a golden edge. "Hmph, let's see how she likes the Sword of Akasha then," Kazuma remarked as Veronica narrowed her eyes and dashed at him.

However, Veronica's eyes widened as her sword was suddenly removed from her hands, flying off to the other side of the stage and landing directly in front of Louise, startling the fiery tempered pinkette, though no one reacted to the Ghostly girl nearly getting crushed as they could not see her, while Veronica herself was wrapped up in the same tendrils that had appeared from Kazuma's back earlier, the tip of his sword aimed squarely at her heart.

The entire audience gasped in surprise.

Kirche looked at the duel in shock. '_I didn't realize that…he was so powerful…_' She put hand over her chest as she began to feel heat coursing through her body.

Veronica's own eyes were widened in shock at the turn of events. "I…have been…defeated…?"

Kazuma smirked as his tentacles released her, causing her to fall to her knees as Kazuma's sword vanished and his tentacles retracted. "That was a good fight, we should do it again sometime."

Veronica was about to respond when a loud howl shot through the air as, from the skies above, a massive, humanoid, red dragon with dark red, armor-like scales with yellow markings, two large horns on its head, and a small tuft of red fur at the back of its head, landed on the ground with a loud thump.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Oh great, what now?"

As the large dragon knelt down, Kazuma raised both eyebrows as a person jumped down off its back.

The person in question was an extremely beautiful young woman with long, scarlet red hair, emerald green eyes, dark brown dress that accentuated her large breasts, a long, knee-length white coat with red borders, brown pantyhose, just below knee-length, high-heeled boots with red laces, a red tie that fell between her impressive bosom, and white gloves.

Kazuma's eyes widened before he smiled widely.

Ddraig warned, **'_Ah…Kazuma…I don't think that's-_'**

However, Ddraig's warning was completely ignored as Kazuma rushed forward and tackled the redhead in a hug, surprising and confusing everyone present, including the girl herself. "Rias! You're here!" Kazuma shouted excitedly. He stopped however as he had his head pressed against the redhead's breasts. "Wait a sec…" he pulled back and blinked curiously as he looked into the bewildered redhead's face. "You're not Rias…are you…?"

The girl looked at him surprised and confused with a light blush.

Kazuma immediately stood up and extended a hand to help her up.

She folded an arm under her bust in confusion. "I have to say, this is outside the norm."

Veronica merely watched in bewilderment.

Kirche frowned at the two with mild frustration, clenching her hand lightly.

The girl stepped back towards the dragon and cleared her throat before assuming a confident posture with a proud smirk. "My name is Rebecca Randall, and I'm here for Ddraig."

Kazuma looked around and then pointed to himself, as did Veronica and the rest of the school.

Rebecca blinked curiously and then looked him over. "I had heard you were the world's largest Maestro Dragon. Is that a lie?"

Kazuma tilted his head in curiosity. "Probably not…but what's a Maestro Dragon…?"

Rebecca stepped back in confusion. '_Wh-who is this person…? First he makes the first move on me…which is rather unexpected, and now he has no idea what a Maestro Dragon is…?_'

Kazuma sighed and then looked up at the dragon next to her, narrowing his eyes. "So, what exactly is it you need?"

Rebecca asked, "I was told you were a dragon, was that a mistake?"

Kazuma shook his head, "No, it's true."

"I was planning on challenging you to face my Cuchulain, but not if you're just a human."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes and then smirked. "You wanna fight, huh? Fine by me." Kazuma closed his momentarily and then reopened them, his irises now red with vertically slit pupils before his body was engulfed in light that burst outward, eventually forming the shape of a dragon. When the light died down, Kazuma was in his massive dragon form.

Rebecca's eyes widened in shock. Her dragon was more than four times taller than she was, but Kazuma's dragon form was almost twice as tall as that. She stumbled back in surprise and then smirked as she hopped up on Cuchulain's back. "Now, shall we fight?"

Kazuma narrowed his eyes and, in a deep voice, responded, "We shall."

Cuchulain immediately rushed forward and shot a blast of fire at Kazuma.

The blast hit Kazuma but simply faded away, leaving no damage.

Rebecca had her dragon dive to the side but Kazuma reached out and grabbed it by the torso, before hurling it, and her, at the stage, destroying the large wooden platform as her dragon crashed into it, sending bits of wood and dust flying all over.

Louise screamed in confusion as the explosion sent her flying away.

This caused the crowd to run back, away from the stage as Kazuma lifted off the ground somewhat with his wings and rushed forward, slamming a foot down on the stage, smashing through what was left of it.

Cuchulain rose high into the air and sent many blasts of fire at Kazuma.

Kazuma merely opened his maw and devoured the flames as they approached him.

Rebecca narrowed her eyes as she stood up on Cuchulain's back, a magic circle appearing at her feet. As it rose up, her original outfit was replaced with a skintight purple and red leotard that had long, armored, red sleeves ending in gloves over her hands, a small section that came up the sides of her head, and thigh-high boots attached to the main outfit with thin straps.

Kazuma raised a scaly, hairless eyebrow as he noticed the huge lance in her right hand.

Rebecca smirked as she raised the lance in the air. She then thrust it forward at Kazuma, the spear becoming engulfed in bright light.

It smashed into Kazuma, sending an explosion out in all directions.

Rebecca smirked but then widened her eyes in shock as the lance fell to the side, and slammed into the castle below.

Kirche shrieked before jumping to the side swiftly, the lance slamming into the ground with a loud thud. "Ohhh…this is such a mess."

"Look out!" one of the other students shouted.

Kirche raised an eyebrow in confusion and looked up as a chunk of the castle fell down towards her. Her eyes widened as the fragment was too close to avoid.

The other students and spectators watched in shock as the rubble fell to the ground and sent dust and smoke flying in all directions.

Rebecca raised an eyebrow and noticed that Kazuma had vanished.

As the dust cleared, Kirche slowly opened her eyes and realized she felt no pain. She looked up and widened her eyes, seeing Kazuma standing right in front of her. "D-Ddraig…"

"Are you alright?" Kazuma asked as he dropped the piece of rubble he was bracing to the side.

Rebecca exclaimed in shock, "Wh-what just happened!?"

Kazuma stood up straight and turned to her as Cuchulain landed on the ground. "That attack nearly hit my Master."

Rebecca smiled weakly as beads of sweat fell down the side of her head. "O-oh…oops."

Kazuma extended a hand to Kirche. "Fortunately she wasn't hit so I don't need to hurt you."

Rebecca paled. "That sounds…very matter-of-fact."

"It is." Kazuma then turned to Kirche. "Are you hurt?"

Kirche shook her head. "No. Thanks to you I wasn't."

Kazuma nodded and then turned back to Rebecca with a frown.

Rebecca then paled. "Uh-oh."

Kazuma then walked towards her, swiftly returning to his dragon form. "Of course, we still have a battle to finish."

Rebecca nodded and extended a hand as her lance flew back to her grasp. "Let's finish this." Cuchulain then leapt into the air and then charged towards Kazuma.

"Of course, you almost killed my Master. So you must be punished."

Rebecca's eyes widened as Kazuma took in a large breath before sending a large blast of red and black energy rushing towards Rebecca, far faster than she could evade.

"N-no!" Rebecca shouted as the blast hit her and her dragon, causing the two to tumble to the ground.

Veronica watched the bout in complete awe. "He…defeated me in single combat and yet…still had enough power to defeat an Arch Dragonar…his power is…unbelievable…"

Kazuma returned to his human form and walked over to Kirche. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her.

Kirche stood shakily, her breathing shallow.

Kazuma walked closer to her and she collapsed towards him, but he managed to catch her. "Hey! Are you alright!?"

"I…I don't know…" she responded through strained breaths. "I…I feel like my whole body's going to catch on fire at any moment."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes and picked her up in his arms. "Oy, pipsqueak."

Louise flew out from the pile of rubble nearby. "You almost killed me!"

"You're already dead," Kazuma deadpanned.

Louise twitched an eyebrow. "Fine. What?"

"How long has she been like this?"

"I don't know. I think after you beat Thunder Tits."

Kazuma nodded in understanding as he made his way towards the tower where Kirche's room was.

Louise tilted her head in confusion but followed after him regardless.

Veronica stood up and narrowed her eyes before walking back towards her ship, calling her soldiers to her.

Rebecca, however, merely lied on the stage disoriented.

* * *

In another area of the school, the hooded mage stood in front of the heavily sealed doors in the academy. She looked around as she heard and felt the ruckus from the exhibition.

She attempted to break the many seals on the door but was unsuccessful. "Damn," she cursed in frustration.

She made her over to a nearby window and conjured a small chunk of rock to descend to the ground softly.

As she did, the dirt beneath her feet began to move and rise up, forming into a huge golem. The golem smashed its fist into the side of the tower, to no avail.

The woman looked and saw Kazuma approaching with Kirche in his arms.

"Ddraig! Look!" Louise shouted.

Kazuma saw the large golem and snarled in frustration as he put Kirche down nearby. He then walked over to the hooded mage. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume you're not a student."

The woman hissed in annoyance as the golem attempted to smash Kazuma.

It was stopped as Kazuma shouted, "Susano'o!" and a black, ethereal, skeletal ribcage and right arm formed around him, stopping its attack.

Moments later Kazuma's Susano'o built itself up more before becoming a large, ethereal, black skeleton equal in size to the golem, with a pair of horns on its forehead and a pair of skeletal wings on its back.

"Wh-what the…?!" the woman shouted in surprise.

* * *

On the bridge of her ship, Veronica raised both eyebrows as she saw Kazuma beginning to fight the golem. "Just…how much power does he have?"

* * *

Kazuma grabbed the golem by the arms with his Susano'o and ripped the golem's arms off, causing it to howl. Ethereal skin and muscle tissue started forming from the Susano'o's eyes and wrapped around its body, covering the Susano'o in a supernal skin, giving it the appearance of a muscular man with shoulder-length, wiry hair, red eyes, and dragon-like wings on the back.

The woman snarled angrily. "I won't be stopped by you!" she shouted as she chanted a spell and sent several spikes of stone flying from her golem.

They impacted Kazuma's Susano'o and merely shattered harmlessly.

Kazuma's Susano'o reared up a fist encased in flame and thrust it forward as Kazuma shouted, "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"

The woman jumped up as the flaming fist slammed into and destroyed her golem, but she then immediately sent a large boulder slamming into the back of Kazuma's Susano'o.

"Shit!" he cursed as he fell forward, the fist of his Susano'o slamming into the tower wall and busting a hole in it.

The woman smirked and ran along the arm of his Susano'o and into the room, grabbing an ornate box.

Kazuma's Susano'o reached out and attempted to grab her but she fell through the floor as she turned it to sand. "Dammit!"

"Ddraig, we will handle this!" one of the guards shouted as he approached Kazuma.

Kazuma nodded before sighing in frustration as his Susano'o disappeared. He then grabbed Kirche and vanished as a vortex appeared from his right eye and sucked the two of them inside, Louise rushing in right after them.

* * *

Back at the exhibition, everyone present is panicking as they had just seen part of Kazuma's battle against the hooded woman's golem.

Henrietta, concerned, turned to Agnes. "What's going on here?"

Agnes huffed angrily. "I have no idea, but I'll go check it out."

"No, please, stay here for now. We need to get these people to safety."

Agnes looked at Henrietta annoyed for a moment but then nodded and began issuing orders to the other soldiers that had accompanied her.

* * *

The woman produced another golem as she exited the tower and began to leave the academy.

However, as she let, Glenn and several of the soldiers with him surrounded her.

"You should surrender now. You can't possibly hope to defeat six Arch Dragonars," Glenn warned.

The woman smirked and swept her wand in front of her, sending a cloud of purple dust flying out in all directions.

Glenn noticed a strange smell and then narrowed his eyes. "Damn! This is…!"

Suddenly all of their dragons began behaving strangely before falling out of the sky.

The woman immediately used the chance to escape, breaking through one of the walls.

* * *

Shortly after the commotion died down, Osmond and several members of the faculty made their way into the room the hooded woman had broken into. Osmond looked around and then noticed a message on the wall that read, "Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt has taken your Staff of Destruction."

Osmond grumbled angrily before noticing the hole in the wall.

* * *

Outside, at the destroyed exhibition, Rebecca finally sat up, slightly disoriented. "Wow…that was a good hit…wait…did I lose…?" She looked around and saw the destruction as well as the many people running around.

"About time you woke up," someone remarked.

Rebecca turned to the side and saw Tabitha standing next to her. "You are…?"

"Tabitha."

Rebecca stood up and was about to introduce herself when she saw Cuchulain lying behind her. "Oh no! Are you alright!?"

Tabitha watched her silently. Rebecca then asked, as she was checking her dragon, "What happened here?"

Illococoo, in her human form, walked up to the two and said, "Ddraig beat you up and then fought some weird person in a hood."

Rebecca blinked curiously.

* * *

Kazuma appeared from another vortex inside Kirche's room, Louise popping out after he stepped out of the vortex, and set Kirche down on her bed.

Louise shook her head roughly. "Yeesh, what was that weird place?"

"I'll explain it later. I've got to take care of Kirche," Kazuma explained as his hand was enveloped in a green light as he passed it over her body.

Kirche's breathing continued to increase in brevity and continued to get shallower.

"This…it has to be…" he remarked before Kirche suddenly sprung up, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him down. "Wh-what?!"

As the two fell over onto the bed, Kirche ended up on top, straddling Kazuma.

"K-Kirche?" Kazuma asked surprised.

"I…I don't know, but…this simply…feels right…" Kirche remarked through shallow breaths.

**LEMON BEGINS HERE**

Kazuma narrowed his eyes as he raised a hand to her cheek with a small smile. '_So it seems I was right._' Kazuma waved a hand off to his side, causing a silencing barrier to cover the room, before pushing himself up and pressing his lips against Kirche's.

Louise blushed lightly and phased through the door, out into the hallway.

Kirche gleefully invited him in, allowing him to explore and feel every spot in her mouth.

Kazuma felt her breath hasten as his tongue massaged a spot near the back of her mouth, he could also feel her whole body tremble as he did. He moved a hand up to her blouse and slipped it in underneath her top and her bra, feeling her stiffened peak rub against his hand as he grasped the luscious orb tightly.

Kirche pulled away from him to moan loudly.

"I take it you like that?" Kazuma asked with a smirk.

"I…I…yes!" Kirche responded breathlessly. '_What is this?! It…it feels like my head is melting…_'

As Kirche fell back on the bed, Kazuma reached down and continued his exploration of her mouth, his right hand dutifully kneading her breast.

Kirche arched her back as more tremors of pleasure rocketed through her body before Kazuma reached down between her long, smooth legs.

He pulled back slightly as his fingers pressed against her panties. He smirked lightly as he could feel her arousal coating the fabric.

"D-don't look at me like that," Kirche remarked, abashed.

"For someone who likes to act so lasciviously, you certainly embarrass easily," Kazuma teased. He pressed two fingers against the thin, soaked fabric hiding her mound and began tracing a line back and forth, causing Kirche to shiver and moan. He increased the sensations as he pulled the clothing over her bosom down and continued kneading one with his right hand and cupped the peak of the other with his lips.

"Aaahhhnnn!" Kirche moaned loudly as her body began to heat up from the multiple pleasurable sensations hitting her at once.

Kazuma stopped his tracing on Kirche's nethers momentarily and pushed the fabric hiding her entrance to the side and pressed his fingers against it. Pulling his face away from her pink-tipped orb momentarily he said with a smirk, "You seem to be approaching your limit faster than I expected."

Kirche attempted and failed to respond coherently, mindless pants and gasps being the only communication she was capable of.

Resuming his grasp on her peak, Kazuma slipped his fingers inside the quivering folds of Kirche's mound, feeling her insides wrap themselves around him tightly. He stirred around inside her with his fingers, while he kneaded and massaged one breast with his hand and sucked and fondled the other with his mouth. Soon Kirche belted out a loud, powerful howl as Kazuma felt her fold constrict on him, throbbing around his fingers.

Kazuma sat up and pulled himself away from her, releasing her mounds and pulling his finger out from her sopping hole. He looked at the fluids dripping off his fingers with light amusement. "Looks like you've already finished."

Kirche tensed before suddenly, to Kazuma's surprise, she sprung up and forced him onto his back.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow as he noticed her normally brown eyes had turned to a bright, deep red. After a moment's pause Kazuma's armor vanished from his body in a flash of golden light.

Kirche remained motionless for a moment as she looked over his toned body before her gaze landed on his expectant member. She smiled slyly before moving herself positioned over it, pulling away her panties and tossing them to the side.

"Well you certainly seem excited," Kazuma remarked with amusement.

Kirche seemingly ignored him as she lowered herself and slowly began to swallow his length inside, wincing as it spread her walls further than she expected. She stopped as his member was prevented from reaching further by her maidenhead.

Kazuma watched as she strained to sink herself further. He put his hands on her round, shapely hips and offered with a smile, "Why don't you let me help a little?" He lifted her up slightly and pushed himself down and then pulled her down and thrust up with a small amount of force.

Kirche gasped as Kazuma moved past her hymen and further inside her. Her expression of surprise quickly turned to pleasure before she began moving on her own, placing her hands on Kazuma's broad torso to steady herself as she moved up and down on the portion of Kazuma's hose imbedded in her, plunging it deeper inside herself with each drop of her hips.

Kazuma grasped his hands tightly around her firm bottom as he decided to put in some effort as well, thrusting himself upward in rhythm with Kirche's own movements.

Kirche's moans of pleasure slowly melted into mere gasps as her pace on Kazuma's length quickened as more and more of it dug its way inside, spreading the depths of her womanhood as it went, soon pressing up against the entrance to her deepest part.

As Kirche smiled widely with pleasure Kazuma also began to notice his own sensations strengthening as he stirred Kirche's insides, moving with slightly more force in each thrust, feeling the resistance in Kirche's innermost wall lessen with each movement.

Soon, Kirche began to gasp louder as the entrance to her womb began to open before Kazuma made his way in, the end of his shaft moving in and out of her deepest entrance before entering fully as more of him filled her.

Kirche's gasps grew louder and sharper as both her and Kazuma's pace quickened and Kazuma pushed deeper into her until she had swallowed him to the base, their mixing arousal splashing around them until finally Kirche dropped herself down sharply as she reached her limit. "Aaahhhmmm!" she cried in ecstasy as her walls tightened around Kazuma.

Kazuma grunted as the newfound, pleasurable pressure caused him to burst inside her, filling her womb with his seed, making her abdomen swell slightly.

Despite the second climax, Kirche looked down at Kazuma with glazed eyes and her lascivious smile still deeply etched onto her face.

Kazuma smirked slightly. "If you want more then more you'll get."

Kirche smiled as she continued rocking her hips on Kazuma's member, their movements now stirring the semen filling her womb, a small amount slipping out as the two moved back and forth from each other with greater speed and voracity than ever.

Kazuma reached his hands up and began massaging her bosom as it rocked and swayed from her movements. Kazuma smiled as she moaned loudly before gripping his fingers tightly on her bust and making one last thrust. "Here I come!"

Kirche howled in lust as Kazuma thrust as deep as possible, her walls contracting wildly around him as more of his seed poured out into her, swelling her abdomen to where she very nearly looked pregnant before the excess burst out from her entrance and splashed onto the bed. Kirche's head falling back, her tongue falling out as her mouth hung open and her eyes rolled back, her body twitching lightly before she went limp and fell back, dismounting Kazuma and allowing the large amount of semen from Kazuma to pour out of her and onto the bed, her abdomen shrinking to normal as it all flowed out around her, Kirche trembling momentarily before finally losing consciousness.

**LEMON ENDS HERE**

Louise slowly peered through the door and gaped at the mess in the room. However, her eyes focused in on the small pool of semen that was collecting on the floor as it dripped from the bed.

Kazuma glanced over curiously as Louise, either unaware he was watching or unconcerned, stuck a finger in the small puddle before sticking said finger in her mouth.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow in thought as he watched the pinkette. He then sighed as he laid back on the bed and closed his eyes before drifting off.

* * *

However, he noticed a familiar sensation as he drifted to sleep.

He opened his eyes and saw a massive, scaled, red dragon with green eyes sitting on a pedestal, chains extending from nowhere restraining his movement, which was perched on top of a massive tower, at the base of which was an endless sea of black of flames.

"So, called me here again, have you?" Kazuma asked.

Ddraig shook his head in response. **"No, he did."**

Kazuma turned around and saw a tall man with unkempt brown hair reaching just past his shoulders, a small, scruffy beard, and narrow dark eyes hidden behind an angular pair of sunglass along with a red-black, flowing cloak covering most of his body, with an upturned white collar with frayed edges. "Ah…Zangetsu. I can only imagine what it is you want."

The man, Zangetsu, narrowed his eyes in response. **"What exactly are you planning to do at this point? You've made no effort to get back to the human world, or, Midgard as you call it. I'm curious what you're plans are at this point."**

Kazuma shrugged in response. "Don't really have any. I'm just kind of enjoying dicking around here on Vanaheim for a while."

Zangetsu sighed heavily. **"I suppose this is what you will be doing for a while, is it not?"**

"Of course. Did you not just witness the past few minutes?"

Zangetsu huffed. **"I try to separate myself from your escapades. I have to keep aware of him after all."**

Kazuma narrowed his eyes in annoyance. He then turned to the side and saw a grinning figure standing nearby before he vanished from the area.

* * *

Kazuma was awakened from his light slumber by a loud, repeating, thumping sound.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. The first thing he noticed was that both he and Kirche were still naked as the day they were born. The second thing he noticed was that Louise was lying nearby, curled into a small ball, clutching her ghostly tail between her arms with a content expression on her face.

However, the third thing he noticed was unusual, the bed was completely dry, it didn't seem to show any ill effects from the previous night's escapades.

His curiosity at the cause was interrupted when the rhythmic pounding filled his ears once more.

"Ddraig! Are you in there?!" the voice of Veronica Lautreamont demanded on the opposite side of Kirche's door.

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. "Ah, wait just a-"

However Veronica did not wait for Kazuma's response and merely forced the door open. She took a momentary glance at Kazuma and Kirche's naked form before noticing Kazuma's footlong. She blinked and then remarked in an even tone, "Impressive." She then turned to look him in the face and said, "Since you are awake-"

"That's too fast!" Kazuma shouted.

"Pardon?" she asked curiously.

Kazuma sighed as he stood up and snapped his fingers, his armor covering his body in a flash of light. "Nevermind. What are you doing in here?"

"I merely wish to see your living conditions," Veronica answered.

"Well I hope you realize this is not my normal situation. This is…unusual."

"Is it? I had merely assumed you were sleeping with one of your concubines."

Kazuma face-faulted. "C-concubine…?"

"Yes. Is that incorrect?"

"Nevermind. Look, I'm rather busy so I'd appreciate it if you'd leave."

Veronica nodded and left the room.

Kazuma scratched his head with a sigh. "What on Niffleheim was that about?"

**'_Not a clue,_'** Ddraig responded.

**'_Perhaps just more of the nonsense this world seems to have,_'** Zangetsu remarked.

Kazuma sighed and then turned to Louise. He narrowed his eyes curiously before looking at Kirche. He lightly shook the tanned young woman's shoulder. "Hey, it's time to wake up."

Kirche mumbled lightly before her eyes fluttered open. She sat up with a yawn and stretched before she froze. She then looked down in confusion. "Uhm…what happened…?"

"You don't remember?"

Kirche shook her head and then moved to stand up and get dressed but immediately lost her footing and fell, though Kazuma caught her before she hit the floor.

"Wh-what?" Kirche remarked in shock and confusion. "M-my legs feel…so weak and wobbly…"

Kazuma looked off to the side with a weak smirk. "…Yeahhh…let's just say last night got a little…energetic…"

Kirche looked at him in thought before her eyes widened in realization. "I had my first time and I forgot?!"

Kazuma slumped his shoulders. "Is that…really the issue here?"

Kirche then pouted in disappointment. "I guess at the very least it was something special if my numb legs are anything to judge by."

Kazuma helped her sit back on the bad and nodded. "You could say that."

"Could you give me my wand?" Kirche requested.

Kazuma nodded and flicked a finger, causing her wand to be hit by a small gust of wind and float to her hand.

Kirche looked at her hand in thought for a moment.

"Something wrong?" Kazuma asked.

"How did you do that just now?" Kirche asked.

"It's magic that I know. It's called Spirit Artes. Why do you ask?"

Kirche narrowed her eyes in thought and then looked up at Kazuma. "I want you to teach it to me."

"You what?" Kazuma asked, surprised.

"I want you to teach me that Spirit Artes."

Kazuma folded his arms with a sigh. "I hope you realize what you're asking. That's not something you can learn that easily. How about this: you get dressed and we'll talk about it."

Kirche blinked curiously and looked down at her nude form. "Yes, that's probably a good idea." She then turned to Kazuma. "You know, I'm going to need your help to get to class."

"What?" Kazuma asked.

"Well, because of our rather…impassioned night, or so you say it was, I can't really walk that well. And so I think acting as my crutch is acceptable punishment for making it so good I can't remember it."

Several beads of sweat fell down the back of Kazuma's head in exasperation. "R-right…"

* * *

After getting dressed, with some small amount of help from Kazuma, Kirche made her down the hall towards her first class, her arm wrapped tightly around Kazuma's as she slowly limped forward.

Kirche chuckled weakly and then turned to Kazuma. "I've never really felt this exhausted before."

"If you really feel that weak perhaps you should stay for today," Kazuma suggested.

Kirche sighed heavily. "Perhaps I should, but there's no guarantee that won't dip my grades even lower."

"What?"

"Let's not get into too much detail."

"I see…"

Kirche looked ahead as she saw Tabitha walking towards the two of them. "Oh, good morning Tabitha," Kirche greeted happily.

Tabitha nodded before noticing how Kirche was holding onto Kazuma for support and how she was limping. After a moment of thought her eyebrow twitched before she lowered her staff parallel to the ground.

"T-Tabitha…?" Kirche asked confused and concerned.

"Pervert," Tabitha bit shortly before a sudden blast of wind shot from her staff.

"Crap…" Kazuma muttered before the blast of wind sent him flying out the nearby window to the ground below, slamming into it hard.

"Ah!" Kirche gasped as she stumbled before tumbling down, though Tabitha caught her before she fell. "Tabitha…what was that about…?"

Tabitha shook her head and frowned out the window before helping Kirche to her classes.

* * *

Kazuma sighed after he pulled his head from the dirt.

"Do I even want to know what that was about?" Kalawarner asked as she looked at him curiously.

Kazuma grumbled as he sat down and propped against the wall. "To tell you the truth I don't know myself. Kirche's little mini-me showed up and then punted me out the window with some wind magic."

Kalawarner looked at him incredulously.

Kazuma tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "What's with that look?"

"Knowing you, I'm sure you did something to deserve it."

Kazuma looked off to the side.

"What did you do…?"

"I…" Kazuma trailed off, "Might've pounded that redhead into unconsciousness."

Kalawarner sighed heavily. "Unbelievable. Do you have any self-control?"

"No. But that's beside the point."

Kalawarner looked at him confused and mildly irritated. "What do you mean?"

* * *

As the final class for the day came to a close, Kirche flexed her legs with a grumble. "Ugh, I think I might've preferred when they were numb. Now that the feeling's coming back they hurt like hell." Kirche groaned before slumping her shoulders in frustration.

* * *

Louise opened her eyes as she finally woke up from her rest and stretched. She then put a finger to her chin. "Is it weird that I'm a ghost and yet I need to sleep…?" After a moment of thought she shook her head and then looked around. "What? Ddraig? Kirche?" She floated into the air somewhat and looked around the room. She didn't see them anywhere. "Where'd they go…?" After a moment she flew out the window and out into the rest of the school in an effort to find the two.

* * *

Kazuma stood near one of the pillars outside as Kirche walked out of the tower. She walked unsteadily towards him before stumbling.

He caught her as she lost her footing and helped her standing. "You still seem to be rather weak in the knees."

"Hmph," Kirche grumbled, "It's all your fault I hope you know."

Kazuma waved a hand dismissively. "Yes, yes. I know. Come with me."

Kirche blinked curiously. "What for?"

"You said you wanted me to teach you Spirit Artes, I've found a spot where we should be able to train in peace."

"Train?" a new voice interjected.

Kirche and Kazuma turned as Colbert walked up to them.

Kazuma nodded. "Yes. Kirche has asked me to train her in the form of magic I use."

Kirche nodded in agreement. "Yes, it's quite impressive. He's able to use it without needing a wand or staff."

Colbert looked at the two in thought as they walked away. He furrowed his brow and then walked away as his thoughts stirred. '_Magic that doesn't use a wand or a staff…does such a thing exist…? Wait…_' he suddenly stopped. '_There is such a magic but…it is only used by…the elves…_' "He couldn't be…"

* * *

Kazuma and Kirche made their way to a small clearing a short distance away from the school.

Kirche looked around curiously. "What are we doing all the way out here?"

"I wanted to make sure we were training in a place no one else would see us. If this morning taught me anything it's that some people have no sense of personal space."

"What…?"

Kazuma sweat anxiously somewhat. "Uhm…nevermind. Let's move on."

Kirche looked at him unsurely. "Right…"

Kazuma outstretched a hand and passed a small, clear-blue crystal to Kirche.

"What's this?"

"It's a crystal that reacts to mana. The first thing we need to do is get you used to utilizing your own mana. I've watched how your wand-based magic works a few times. It does most of the legwork for you. It acts as a sort of filter, reacting to incantations and motions you make to perform spells, pulling mana from your body and then directing it outwards. This form of magic however, requires you to control your mana yourself."

Kirche looked at him bewildered.

Kazuma pinched his nose in frustration. "You didn't understand a word of what I just said, did you?"

Kirche sighed. "N-no…"

"Do you at least know what mana is?"

"Yes I know what mana is," Kirche huffed.

"Just had to be sure. The type of magic I use works by me controlling the flow of my mana through my body to where I need it to use different spells and then sending it outward. Your type of magic works by using motions in the air and incantations to form a sort of invisible magic circle that does all the mana flow automatically, without you needing to think about it. So before I can actually start teaching you any magic I need to teach you how to consciously control your mana flow."

"Is that what this stone is for?"

"Precisely. It helps to draw your mana out and can also help to practice control over the flow of mana since, if you flow too little mana, it will flicker or, if you flow too much mana, it will explode."

"Ex-explode…?"

"Yes."

Kirche gulped in concern.

"Now, let's begin with the basics and move from there."

Kirche nodded in agreement, albeit apprehensively.

* * *

In another area of the school, Louise continued flying around the hallways, invisible to all other people, in an attempt to find Kirche and Kazuma. "Ohhh, where are they!?" she shouted irritably.

After having no luck finding them within the school she decided to check beyond the school's walls, in the opposite side of where Kirche and Kazuma were.

She looked around the area in frustration before the ground below her darkened. She turned around and her eyes widened.

* * *

Kirche grumbled in frustration as the gem in her hand emitted a miniscule blue light that flickered weakly. "Is there something I'm doing wrong?"

Kazuma shook his head. "No, there's not. It'll just take some time to-" Kazuma suddenly stopped as he looked off to the side tense.

Kirche looked at him confused. "To…to what?"

Kazuma raised a hand slightly. "Stay here." He then vanished in a burst of speed.

"Whoa!" Kirche exclaimed, unable to tell where he went.

* * *

Kazuma reappeared in a different area of the school, atop a tree branch when he heard a loud, frightened shriek. "Louise!" He turned and saw Louise running. He then looked behind her and saw a giant, green, ape-like creature with four arms, black markings on its back, a hole in the center of its chest, and a white, broad, flat, human skull-like mask with two large flat sections pointing up and two spikes jutting from the lower jaw and red eyes. "Dammit," Kazuma cursed as he outstretched a hand. "Come to me: Zangetsu!" Suddenly, a zanbatou with a straight blade, beige hand guard and hilt with red fabric laced over the hilt and two light blue tassels appeared in his hand.

The beast reared up a fist to slam it down on Louise, causing Louise to bring her hands up defensively. She looked to the side in confusion as the monster's arm fell to the side, severed from its body.

Kazuma landed on the ground, holding Zangetsu, and turned to Louise. "Are you hurt?"

"N-no…what is that thing?!" she demanded.

Kazuma stood up and turned to the monster. "It's called a Hollow. And it seems it's hungry."

Louise blinked curiously and then gaped. "You mean it wants to eat me?!"

"Yes."

Louise merely trembled.

**"Che, a Soul Reaper, eh. Wait, no, a devil, or, actually, what the hell ARE you?!"** the Hollow asked in irritation.

Kazuma raised Zangetsu, parallel to the ground and pointed to the side as mana began collecting and swirling around the blade. "As far as you're concerned? I'm death incarnate."

**"I guess that just makes you a meal!"** the Hollow shouted as it prepared to strike Kazuma.

However, in the blink of an eye, Kazuma went from standing in front of the Hollow to aloft into the air above it.

The Hollow turned slowly to look at him before its mask cracked right down the middle, with a split trailing down its entire body. **"…Damn…"** The beast then disintegrated and vanished as Kazuma landed back on the ground in front of Louise.

Kazuma stood up, dispelled Zangetsu, and turned to Louise. "Are you alright?"

Louise looked at him shocked before tears began collecting at the edges of her eyes. She then jumped up and reflexively wrapped her arms around his torso, cryin.

Kazuma chuckled lightly as he put a hand on her head. "It's alright, you don't need to get that emotional, you're okay now." Kazuma tensed as he suddenly felt a strange sensation. "Wh-what…?"

Louis sniffed slightly before looking up at him. She was about to ask him something when her eyes widened as her arms began phasing inside of his body. "Wh-what's happening?!"

"Louise!" Kazuma shouted before a force seemed to pull her as she sunk into his body and vanished. "No! Shit!"

* * *

Ddraig laid quietly, the chains around his body rattling as he snored, before something caused him to snap awake. He looked up and gaped as Louise fell from the endless sky above him, shrieking as she fell. **"Shit!"** he cursed as he reached out as much as he could to try and grab her, but missed as she fell past him towards the sea of flames.

Ddraig sighed in relief as Zangetsu floated up towards the stone path, holding Louise, who know had a fully human form with two legs and was dressed in the magic academy's uniform with a brown cape, in his arms before he set down on the path and put her down.

Louise looked at him shocked and scared and then turned and gasped as she saw Ddraig.

Zangetsu looked up and said, **"Kazuma, she is safe."**

'_That's good,_' Kazuma's voice reverberated through the area.

Louise looked around in confusion. "Kazuma?"

Kazuma sighed. '_Look, it's a long story. I don't know how but now you're inside my mindscape, or, I guess, my soul._'

Louise flattened her expression. "It's creepy in here."

'_If you knew my history that wouldn't be surprising. I don't really have the time to explain it all. But, it's very, very dangerous for you to be in there, so I'm going to tell you something and I need you to listen to every word, got it?_'

Louise frowned in concerned but nodded. "Okay, what is it?"

'_While you're there, stay close to Zangetsu or Ddraig and NEVER leave their side. _Ever_._'

"Who?"

'_The red dragon is Ddraig and Glasses Guy is Zangetsu._'

"Oh, okay."

Zangetsu twitched an eyebrow.

Kazuma continued, '_Second, and this is the _most_ important. Do _not_ under any circumstances come near me. If you see me there and, for some reason you aren't with Zangetsu or Ddraig, RUN. Run as fast as you can. Try to find Zangetsu or Ddraig as quickly as you can and stay with them. I don't care if I tell you it's safe stay as far away from me as you can._'

Louise frowned fearfully. "Uhm…o-okay…"

'_If you can do both of those until I find a way to get you out of there I'll explain everything. But I have to reiterate, stay as far away from me as you can._'

Louise nodded in frightened understanding. "Okay…if you think it's so important…"

Zangetsu put a hand on her shoulder and nodded.

* * *

In another area of Kazuma's mindscape, a figure sat on a small rock before smirking in amusement.

* * *

Kazuma, out in the real world, sighed as he put a hand on his head in exasperation. "Grr…fuck!"

"Ddraig?" Kirche asked as she walked over to him. "What's going on?"

Kazuma sighed heavily. "It's hard to explain. Let's just say I'm having an internal conflict."

"Uhm…okay. What happened to our training?"

"Unfortunately it's going to need to be postponed. Something else came up. We should return to your room."

Kirche frowned in disappointment but nodded in understanding.

* * *

As the two returned to their shared room, Kalawarner saw Kazuma approaching and put a hand on his shoulder. "We need to talk."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and nodded. He then turned to Kirche. "I'll be there in a bit."

Kirche nodded and walked into her room.

* * *

Kazuma walked into Kalawarner, Sheele, and Siesta's shared room, which he noticed Siesta was not in, and closed the door. "What is it?"

"First, what happened with that Hollow?" Kalawarner asked.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow.

"We were both able to sense it right before it disappeared," Sheele explained.

Kazuma nodded. "Right. It tried to attack Louise and I killed it."

"Louise? That's the girl that died one year ago, isn't it?" Kalawarner asked.

Kazuma nodded again. "Yes. She's become a Ghost and has been hanging around the academy doing pranks."

"You certainly do seem to attract weirdness."

"Yeah. Unfortunately, that's the worst of our problems."

"What do you mean?" Sheele asked.

"After I stopped that Hollow from killing her, Louise wrapped her arms around me and then inadvertently possessed me."

Kalawarner raised an eyebrow and widened her eyes. "No! That means-!"

Kazuma nodded. "Yes. It means she's currently in there with him. I've instructed her to stay with Ddraig or Zangetsu at all times but even their power only extends so far. I need to figure out a way to pull her out as fast as possible."

Kalawarner put a hand to her face in exasperation. "Unbelievable. And I thought what I was going to tell _you_ was bad."

"What do you mean?"

"The palace wants to blame Princess Henrietta for the theft."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes. "What…?"

"They're pinning the theft of this Staff of Destruction on her because some of the guards were pulled away to help protect her. Her advisers even told her it was a bad idea to return to the castle, but she did it anyway."

Kazuma sighed angrily. "That's bullshit and I'm sure we all know it."

Kalawarner nodded in agreement.

"If this Staff of Destruction or whatever is so important to these clowns then I'll just get it back for them."

Kirche then stumbled through the door. "A-ah, whoa!"

Kazuma and the others turned to her as she fell to the floor. "I was wondering when you were going to stop hiding."

Kirche brushed herself off and then stood up. "You can't be serious about going after the Staff."

"I am."

Kirche's eyes widened. "That's insane! You encountered the thief that took it, she outdid you!"

Kazuma hissed in frustration. "I'll admit that she did. However, I merely miscalculated and was hit in the back by a boulder. It didn't hurt me at all, but it's still the reason she was able to get the Staff. Regardless, I refuse to let those worms blame this on Henrietta. At worst I'd be the one most responsible since it's my blunder that allowed her to grab the damn thing in the first place."

However, their meeting was interrupted as Colbert walked up to the doorway. "Pardon me for interrupting, but Miss Zerbst, Ddraig, please, come to Osmond's office immediately."

Kazuma looked at Kirche who shook her head in confusion.

* * *

As the two arrived in Old Osmond's office they saw Tabitha was also in the room, waiting for them.

As they approached the desk, Kazuma asked, "Kana, why'd you and Sheele come too?"

"Kana" turned to him and folded her arms. "It's not like we've got anything better to do."

Kazuma shrugged. "Fair enough." Kazuma also noticed at least half a dozen other mages in the room as well, including Tabitha. '_Whatever's going on here must be big._'

Osmond silenced the confused lot by stamping his staff on the ground. "Now listen closely everyone. The palace has ordered that we retrieve the Staff of Destruction immediately."

Kazuma folded his arms with a huff.

"Something wrong, Ddraig?"

"No, but this just gives me an excuse. I was planning on doing that anyway."

"I see…" Osmond responded unsurely.

Longueville then spoke up. "I spoke with several of the people in town who all said they spotted a strange, shadowy figure in the forests just on the edge of one of the villages."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes as he activated his Tenshigan. He frowned in annoyance as he looked at Longueville.

"The villagers say that the figure has been entering and leaving a rundown shack in the forest repeatedly," Longueville continued. She then handed a sketch to Osmond, who then showed it to the group.

No one else made a sound but Kazuma nodded. "Yeah, that's Fouquet. The woman I fought with."

"Good," Colbert remarked, "I will send a messenger to the palace immediately and have soldiers ready to arrest her."

Osmond nodded in agreement. "On that note, it is imperative that we apprehend her. As such, I am requesting volunteers to go after and pursue her."

After several moments of silence Kazuma sighed in annoyance. "Well you already know I'm going."

"As am I," Kirche added.

Tabitha also picked up her long staff as well.

Osmond narrowed his eyes for a moment but then nodded. "Good. Then I suppose you will be the group to pursue Fouquet. It is especially good that you are in the group, Ddraig. As you have one-on-one experience with her abilities."

Kazuma nodded and glanced at Longueville again.

The woman shrunk back slightly, feeling discomfort.

"Also, Tabitha is a Chevalier, a knight who surpasses each of you," Osmond remarked.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow. '_That little thing is a knight? Well, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, considering that little Ururu was about the size of a half-pint and hit like a semi-truck._'

"Not to mention Kirche comes from a distinguished military family," Osmond added. "And as for you, Ddraig. Well, I think we've already seen what you can do."

At that moment the door to Osmond's office opened as Veronica walked in.

Osmond and the others looked at her curiously. "Uhm…can I help you?" Osmond asked confused.

"I will be going as well," Veronica explained.

"What for?" Kirche asked.

"I must follow my husband always."

"Husband!?" everyone asked in bewilderment.

Veronica nodded plainly and walked up to Kazuma. "Yes."

Kazuma looked around and then pointed to himself. "Er…me…?"

Veronica nodded plainly, once more. "Yes. It is only natural. You bested me in single combat, and not only that, you then defeated an Arch Dragonar and then still had enough power to contest an Earth Mage. I will accept no other as my husband. And you will present no arguments."

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. '_This is like Esdeath all over again._' He then sighed and remarked, "You know, I don't think it quite works like that."

Veronica frowned in disappointment. "Do I not meet your standards?"

Kazuma flinched as he suddenly felt all eyes on him. '_D-damn her…not only pulling out a question like that but…that expression…combined with that body and her normal expression…dammit…_' Kazuma sighed in response. "No, no. That's not it. I'll explain later but for now we've got a thief to catch."

The others nodded in agreement.

"I'll guide you to the location," Longueville offered.

Kazuma nodded in agreement.

* * *

The group left the academy in a wagon, Longueville taking the reins, Kazuma sitting up front next to her.

The other girls weren't pleased when Kazuma asked Kalawarner and Sheele to join them on their hunt for Fouquet.

Kazuma folded his arms and glanced at Longueville. He then asked, "Longueville, tell me something, if you don't mind."

"Hmm?" she responded.

"If this _Fouquet_ can use magic and all, why does she need to steal? Aren't all mages considered nobles?"

Longueville narrowed her eyes, noticing Kazuma's biting emphasis on "Fouquet". "Well, all mages _are_ considered nobles. However, sometimes nobles can get removed from their position, not always for valid reasons. So some will often take up other professions to make ends meet."

"Is that why you're working for Osmond?" Kazuma asked.

Longueville nodded. "It helps that Old Osmond isn't particularly picky about who works for him."

"What got you demoted?" Kirche asked.

However, before Longueville could answer Veronica butted in. "It is rude to pry into a woman's personal matters."

Kirche looked at the busty blonde with a deadpan expression. "Are you really the person to be talking about that?"

"What do you mean?"

Kazuma gulped as he saw proverbial, and possibly literal, sparks fly between the two.

Kirche then sighed and leaned on the edge of the cart. "Ugh…this is boring…"

"Why did you come in the first place?" Veronica asked.

Kirche frowned in annoyance at her. "I'm Ddraig's Master. It's only natural he and I go to the same place."

"I, his wife, do that just fine. You are unneeded baggage."

"What was that?!"

Kazuma then pushed the two away from each other. "Okay, that's enough! I seriously don't need you two bickering at each other!"

Kirche frowned but Veronica responded simply, "Very well. I shall hold my tongue while we are here."

Kazuma nodded in appreciation. "Thank you. I've already got a screaming headache as it is."

Kirche twitched an eyebrow.

* * *

Inside Kazuma's mind, Louise walked behind Zangetsu as he moved through the halls of the massive tower.

"Uhm, what's with all these cages?" Louise asked apprehensively.

Zangetsu responded plainly, **"They act as barriers between different parts of Kazuma's mind. His emotions, his memories, his fears, his desires. In order to prevent his mind from crumbling under the weight of them all he's partitioned them all into separate areas."**

Louise raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't make any sense. Some of them have people inside them."

**"In some cases that is appropriate."**

Louise frowned in annoyance. "Hey, where are we going?"

**"There are some on the lower level I need to keep an eye on."**

Louise tilted her head in confusion.

* * *

Eventually the group made their way to the cabin Longueville had told them about.

Kirche, Longueville, Tabitha, Veronica, Sheele, and Kalawarner stayed back while Kazuma, turning invisible, made his way towards the cabin.

Kazuma looked around and saw that no one was around. He turned visible and signaled the others over.

"We should check for traps," Kirche recommended.

Tabitha raised her wand to check but Kazuma remarked, "There are none." Tabitha looked at him with a mildly surprised expression, noticing his Tenshigan right as he deactivated them.

Kazuma turned to the others and said, "Sheele, Veronica, on me. The rest of you keep watch out here."

The two women nodded and flanked him while the others spread out outside the cabin.

Kazuma, Veronica, and Sheele worked their way inside the cabin, searching around.

"Now Sheele, try not to-" Kazuma began but stopped when Sheele shrieked as she tripped on a broken board and fell face first into a pile of boxes. Kazuma sighed heavily and reached out a hand with a smile. "What am I saying? If there's a way to fall down you'll find it."

Sheele frowned as he helped her up. "That's mean…"

"It's also true."

Sheele frowned further and then began crying waterfall tears. "I'm sorry I'm so useless!" she wailed.

Kazuma hitched and then patted her on the head with a warm smile. "Now, now, you're not useless. Just clumsy."

Veronica watched the interaction interestedly before noticing a strange box in the corner.

Kazuma turned and noticed it as well. "That's the box Fouquet took." Kazuma picked up the box and took it outside the cabin, the others seeing him holding it.

"You found it?!" Kirche asked excitedly as Kazuma set the box down.

As the others made their way toward the group Tabitha heard something to the side and went to investigate.

"So…how do we open it?" Kirche asked.

"Why do we need to?" Kazuma retorted.

Kirche frowned in disappointment. "Come on…you don't want to find out what's inside?" she asked, pressing her bosom together.

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow before an explosion interrupted their conversation.

They all turned and saw another Earth Golem behind them, holding an unconscious Tabitha in its stony hand.

"Tabitha!" Kirche shouted. She extended her wand and sent a blast of flame at the golem, but it merely dissipated ineffectually.

Kazuma narrowed his eyes as he activated his Susano'o, the full black skeleton with wings forming. A giant version of the sword Kazuma used to fight Veronica formed in the Susano'o's hand as Kazuma used it to slice off the golem's arm.

The golem howled before its arm regenerated.

Kazuma punched the golem in the center of its body with the Susano'o, shattering it to pieces as it crumbled to the ground. He then shouted, "I know you're there! Come out!"

Kirche ran over and grabbed Tabitha before getting swiftly out of the way.

After a moment the thief that had broken into the school, Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt, walked out of the brush.

As the skin and muscle of his Susano'o formed, Kazuma looked down at Fouquet.

"So, what will you do with me?" Fouquet asked she raised her wand.

A sudden, loud, bang was heard as Fouquet stumbled back, before falling to her knees as blood seeped into her clothing from a hole in her chest before she fell to the ground.

Everyone gasped in shock and looked up to see Kazuma holding the Longtomb Special, smoke flowing from the barrel.

"We were supposed to catch her, not kill her!" Kirche shouted.

As Kazuma's Susano'o dispelled, he dropped to the ground. "Except for special circumstances I find taking prisoners to be a waste of time. We've got the Staff of Destruction back, so why don't the rest of you return to the school with it?"

Kirche looked at him apprehensive and curious and asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Dispose of Fouquet's body, what else?"

"That's…morbid…" Kirche remarked.

"Why not simply do so now?" Veronica asked.

"I want to see if her corpse leaves any information behind. After I've determined whether there's anything useful or not I'll destroy her corpse and return to the academy."

Veronica nodded in understanding.

Sheele picked up the Staff of Destruction but took nary a step before tripping and dropping the case on the ground, hard, causing the lock to break and the box to open.

Kazuma raised a confused eyebrow as he saw the "Staff of Destruction." "Now I'm confused," he muttered. He picked up the "Staff" and examined it. "This…this is a rocket launcher."

Sheele moaned as she stood up. "Did I break something again?"

Kazuma shook his head. "No, take a look at this."

Sheele blinked curiously. "What's that doing here?"

"Not a clue," Kazuma rebutted. "It's probably best we pack this thing up before anyone gets any funny ideas."

Sheele nodded in agreement.

* * *

After the "Staff of Destruction" was safely packed back in its box and the others had departed, Kazuma took Fouquet's body and rested it lightly against a tree, tying it up. He then snapped his fingers.

After a moment Fouquet twitched and then coughed furiously. She opened her eyes and then gasped when she saw Kazuma in front of her and tried to escape. She reached into her pocket but snarled after a moment.

"Looking for this?" Kazuma asked, holding a small silver wand.

Fouquet grit her teeth angrily. "So…what will you do with me? Kill me? Turn me in to the authorities?"

Kazuma stood up and shook his head. "I can't turn you in. Otherwise my master would be charged with being complicit in a criminal faking her death. I'll either let you live or kill you. That depends on how you answer my questions."

Fouquet trembled angrily.

"My first question is, what's your real name, Longueville?"

She froze as Kazuma flipped back her hood, revealing "Fouquet" to actually be Longueville, Osmond's assistant. "How…how did you know…?"

"I can see mana. And I saw that yours was identical to Fouquet's. That, and you have the same hair and same cup size."

Longueville's face reddened before she shouted, "Wh-what's that got to do with anything?!"

"You asked how I figured it out. Now, answer _my_ question. I'm fairly certain that your name isn't Fouquet or Longueville. What's your real name?"

She frowned in defeat and lowered her head angrily. "My…my name is Matilda de Sachsen Gotha."

Kazuma put a hand to his chin in thought. "Based on what I saw on a map of this world, that means you're from the continent called Albion, correct?"

Matilda nodded in return. "Yes, it does."

"Now, next question. The things you told me, about having your position as a noble revoked and your sister, how much of those true?"

Matilda bit her lip and then sighed. "All of it. Well, partially. I used to be a noble."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes. "Now is not the time to scrimp on details. It could make the difference between that paint bullet being all you've been hit with or me shooting you for real."

Matilda winced angrily. "Fine…if you want to know so badly. I was born in the town of Westwood on Albion. My father was viceroy to Archduke de Albion, one of the highest ranking officials in all of Albion. My father was framed for crimes that the Archduke himself committed. As a result, my father and all of his family, including myself, were stripped of our ranks and reduced to mere peasants."

Kazuma sat down opposite her. "Alright, fair enough. So why did you take up stealing? Does it have something to do with this sister of yours?"

Matilda nodded. "Yes, though, she isn't actually my sister biologically. During my father's many meetings and visits with the Archduke I met with the Archduke's half-elf, illegitimate daughter." Matilda smiled nostalgically as she continued. "I grew close with the girl through all of our meetings. However, she was eventually pushed out when the Archduke's power became threatened when it was revealed he had an elven mistress, forcing my surrogate sister from her home and into the forests around the city. During the time that I still had access to the money and resources of my father, I spent a lot of time travelling to the cottage she lived at, giving her food and money to help her live off of and take care of the orphans she cared for. But that all stopped when my father was stripped of his power."

Kazuma nodded in understanding. "So, what's the connection to her?"

Matilda frowned in irritation. "You're not going to let me go with anything being unsaid, are you?"

She froze when Kazuma put the barrel of his pistol against her forehead, his eyes darkening in disinterest. "I'm giving you a chance to save yourself. Acting obstinate and not giving me adequate information would be poor choices."

Matilda gulped and then nodded in understanding as Kazuma lowered the weapon. "As I'm sure you've figured out, I took up this stealing so that I could continue getting money and supplies to her, so that she didn't go without. She's too precious to me to let that happen to her."

Kazuma kept his face stern in thought. "So…I'm going to assume you're not alone. As I doubt you could get all the information you have for all the crimes you've committed on your own."

Matilda grunted angrily.

"Since I'm assuming whoever it is you're working for has an iron grip on you I'll offer you this trade off. You give me every scrap of information that you have on these people, you stop stealing from anyone, and you act under my orders and with loyalty to me, and I guarantee that this sister of yours, once I know who she is, will have all the money and food she could ever need."

Matilda's eyes widened.

"I have vast amounts of wealth, far beyond even that of a large nation. I will dispense portions of it to her on a regular basis, along with food, and whatever else she may need. I will also keep your name out of the records and keep your personal record clean. I will not blow your cover at the academy and you will keep working as Osmond's secretary. You fulfill all of those conditions and I will ensure that you and this sister of yours are well taken care of."

Matilda stared at him in conflicted thought before answering.

* * *

**And there you have the fourth chapter of Legends of Chaos: Dragon of Zerbst. If you enjoyed it, be sure to leave a review saying so. If you were confused or unsure on anything, let me know with a review and I will do what I can to address it. If you did not enjoy it, post a review if you must but might I suggest doing something you enjoy? That aside, until next time, buh-bye!**


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